{"text":[[{"start":12.88,"text":"Argentina’s central bank has sold more than $1bn in three days to prop up the peso, as a political crisis engulfing President Javier Milei unnerved markets and cast doubt on the future of his exchange rate policies. "}],[{"start":31.71,"text":"The monetary authority sold $678mn of its hard currency reserves to defend the peso on Friday, official figures show, in addition to $379mn on Thursday and $53mn on Wednesday after the currency hit the bottom of its exchange rate band."}],[{"start":57.94,"text":"Milei introduced the band system in April when he relaxed the country’s long-standing currency controls to secure a $20bn loan from the IMF, which now makes up the bulk of the central bank’s $39bn reserves including loans and money backing consumers’ deposits."}],[{"start":78.63,"text":"Milei’s economy minister Luis Caputo told local media on Thursday that authorities would “sell to the very last dollar” to keep the peso within its band."}],[{"start":90.28,"text":"But the accelerating dollar sales have raised doubts among investors that Milei will be able to keep the band scheme in place."}],[{"start":99.11,"text":"“This dynamic is not sustainable,” said Gabriel Caamaño, an economist at Outlier financial consultancy. “Not so much because they will run out of dollars, but because with this many pesos being taken out of circulation to be converted to dollars, the impact on economic activity will be very strong.”"}],[{"start":119.59,"text":"The peso has plunged 9 per cent in the past two weeks, after Milei’s libertarian party suffered a shock landslide defeat at local elections in Buenos Aires province, which the president had framed as a referendum on his leadership. "}],[{"start":137.93,"text":"The result has shaken investors’ faith in Milei’s ability to maintain support for his free market agenda. Peso volatility, common in Argentina before elections, has increased ahead of crucial national midterms on October 26."}],[{"start":156.22,"text":"Milei on Friday accused the opposition of attempting to destabilise his government by causing “political panic which is spiralling in the market.”"}],[{"start":167.32,"text":"Milei has struggled to defend his flagship austerity programme in recent weeks as the opposition-dominated congress approved a series of spending increases. Meanwhile, a corruption scandal involving the president’s sister and chief of staff, Karina, has dragged down his approval ratings."}],[{"start":188.76999999999998,"text":"Argentina’s sovereign bond prices, which had rallied dramatically during Milei’s first year in office, have fallen as reserve sales and political uncertainty stoke concerns about the government’s ability to pay its debts."}],[{"start":204.96999999999997,"text":"Yields on Argentine dollar debt, which move inversely to prices, have soared 5.5 percentage points in the past two weeks, reaching 14.5 per cent above comparable US treasuries."}],[{"start":219.25999999999996,"text":"Analysts said the government would need to calm markets by demonstrating political strength or finding new sources of dollars to stop the run on the peso."}],[{"start":230.93999999999997,"text":"“Otherwise, they would be forced to bring forward a change in their exchange rate regime, which would be very damaging for their credibility and potentially for their election performance,” Caamaño said."}],[{"start":254.86999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftmailbox.cn/album/a_1758500729_7670.mp3"}