( Spanish) — As if it were a puzzle to put together, the dollar in Argentina is divided into different prices, depending on the type of market and consumer we are talking about. In other words, the same greenback can be worth at least 150% more, depending on the nature of the operation that is carried out.
Now, how many types of dollars are there in Argentina? That answer may be imprecise, because in the informal market there can be as many quotes as operations between private parties, since in the face of exchange distortion, people often agree on an exchange rate that suits them for a negotiation. But in general, we can find these variants:
Official dollar (retail)
It is not freely accessible. The Central Bank establishes its price and today officiates more as a basis for calculating other prices. It is trading this Thursday at $136.32 Argentine pesos (around 200 pesos less than the parallel dollar).
Official dollar (wholesale)
It is taken as a reference for foreign trade operations and at the request of financial entities. It is trading this Thursday at $129.61.
Informal dollar (or blue dollar)
It is of free circulation and is not regulated by the Central Bank. It is the one you get “on the street”. He closed yesterday’s wheel at 337 pesos.
Savings or solidarity dollar
It is the one legally acquired by authorized consumers in different financial entities. It has a purchase limit of US$ 200 dollars. This Thursday, it was quoted at $224.93 Argentine pesos (this price arises from adding taxes of 65% to the official retail exchange rate).
tourist dollar
Reference for the purchase of all kinds of goods with a card outside of Argentina. The government recently raised the tax burden for this type of operation by 10%. It is trading this Thursday at 238.56 (arises from adding 75% in taxes to the official retail dollar).
Dollar Stock Exchange or MEP
It is a legal dollar that is obtained by buying public securities in pesos, and then trading them according to their price in dollars. It closed this Thursday at $321.50 Argentine pesos.
Dollar counted with liquidation
It is acquired through the purchase of bonds in pesos that are then sold abroad in dollars. Usually, it is the dollar used by companies that cannot access the official due to the exchange trap. That is why its price is important, given its impact on inflation. The difference between the MEP and the Cash with settlement is that the latter makes it possible to leave banknotes deposited abroad. Quoted this Thursday $ 334 Argentine pesos.
Other exchange rates
These are the most traded exchange rates in Argentina, but not the only ones. If we look deeper into the depths of the transactions, we can find up to a “Netflix” dollar, which arises from adding taxes of 53% to the price of the official retail dollar. It is the reference dollar to charge Argentines for their consumption of digital platforms, hence its name.
New measures
As if this were not enough, the government announced this Thursday a new version of the tourist dollar, among other measures. Based on the new regulations, foreign tourists who want to exchange their dollars in the country will be able to do so in banks and financial institutions up to a limit of US$5,000. And the reference value will be the price of the MEP dollar or stock dollar. The question that many analysts are asking is how will the government match the price that tourists can get when exchanging their dollars in the informal market? In other words: what incentive can a tourist have to change his dollars in the formal circuit if he is paid more to sell it in the informal market?
Unanswered questions at the moment in the tangled universe of the dollar in Argentina, a country in which the same bill represents different amounts of pesos.
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