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Argentina's Currency Black Market

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Re: Argentina's Currency Black Market

#21

Post by contingencies »

mikeash wrote: post #18
laumac wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Citation here: http://en.mercopress.com/2013/10/21/argentine-central-bank-l... We'll add a link to this in the post now.

That doesn't mean it makes sense. $47.5 million/day being the same as $8 million/hour implies that there are 5.9375 hours per day.

8 hours a day minus an hour for lunch is 7 hours .. perhaps exchange operations close an before the daily close of business? Wouldn't surprise me, and that's ~5.9375 (6 to be precise). Then of course there's bank holidays and weekends...

Re: Argentina's Currency Black Market

#22

Post by alfet »

niico wrote: post #5

I've been living in Buenos Aires for over 4 years now. The secret for infinite money basically is selling Bitcoins to USD and then selling the USD to Ar$ Pesos. Right now 1 USD = 10.10 Ar Pesos. Here are some references: 1 Bus ticket from 1.50 to 3 Pesos. 1 Bic Mac about 45 pesos. 1 Coca Cola 8 or 9 pesos. 1 Dinner in a medium to fancy restaurant 150 pesos (200+ if you drink wine). If any hacker is in town, let me kn…

If you have the means to buy Bitcoins i feel there are better ways to get into this money loop, specially the last few months with the recent capital repatriation tax amnesty.

Re: Argentina's Currency Black Market

#24

Post by jafaku »

bedhead wrote: post #11

All self-inflicted wounds. Argentinians could have a stable currency and a thriving, functional economy - there's nothing structural that's stopping them. But they choose not to, and have been making this choice for they last 100 years or so. It's a true pity.

That's like saying Americans could stop the wars.

Re: Argentina's Currency Black Market

#25

Post by dasil003 »

bedhead wrote: post #11

All self-inflicted wounds. Argentinians could have a stable currency and a thriving, functional economy - there's nothing structural that's stopping them. But they choose not to, and have been making this choice for they last 100 years or so. It's a true pity.

It's self-inflicted in the same way that a mugger stealing your wallet at gunpoint is self-inflicted. After all, you are both citizens of the same country.

Re: Argentina's Currency Black Market

#26

Post by jhandl »

alfet wrote: post #22
niico wrote: post #5

I've been living in Buenos Aires for over 4 years now. The secret for infinite money basically is selling Bitcoins to USD and then selling the USD to Ar$ Pesos. Right now 1 USD = 10.10 Ar Pesos. Here are some references: 1 Bus ticket from 1.50 to 3 Pesos. 1 Bic Mac about 45 pesos. 1 Coca Cola 8 or 9 pesos. 1 Dinner in a medium to fancy restaurant 150 pesos (200+ if you drink wine). If any hacker is in town, let me kn…

If you have the means to buy Bitcoins i feel there are better ways to get into this money loop, specially the last few months with the recent capital repatriation tax amnesty.

The Cedin trades for official dollars... How is that better than selling bitcoins?

Re: Argentina's Currency Black Market

#27

Post by bedhead »

dasil003 wrote: post #25
bedhead wrote: post #11

All self-inflicted wounds. Argentinians could have a stable currency and a thriving, functional economy - there's nothing structural that's stopping them. But they choose not to, and have been making this choice for they last 100 years or so. It's a true pity.

It's self-inflicted in the same way that a mugger stealing your wallet at gunpoint is self-inflicted. After all, you are both citizens of the same country.

Argentina, for years, has chosen an economic policy something akin to a semi-functional alcoholic. I'm not quite sure what about their economic ideologies are somehow forced upon them despite decade after decade of failure.

Re: Argentina's Currency Black Market

#29

Post by pmelendez »

rafaelm wrote: post #12
aristus wrote: post #3

Venezuela's official rate has been about 1/5 of the black market rate for many years. I remember my wife shooing me into a corner at the airport while she traded dollars for bolivares with the security guards. The differential has caused all kinds of effects. Plane tickets are hard to come by because so many people take advantage of the spread by flying somewhere, buying goods at official, returning for cash then tra…

Right now the official rate is Bs.6.3 per dollar. The black market rate is just getting to Bs. 50/$. Thats one of the reasons we are set to have a 50% inflation rate this year. My monthly salary has withered away and as an engineer I'm making just over $200/mo.

Fellow Venezuelan here (although living outside of the country right now)

I have hard times explaining to people how the economy works over there. Most people overestimate how harmful is a regime under foreign currency exchange control. But some metrics like the big mac index (http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index) can give a rough idea of what is happening.

Re: Argentina's Currency Black Market

#30

Post by laumac »

mikeash wrote: post #18
laumac wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Citation here: http://en.mercopress.com/2013/10/21/argentine-central-bank-l... We'll add a link to this in the post now.

That doesn't mean it makes sense. $47.5 million/day being the same as $8 million/hour implies that there are 5.9375 hours per day.

You're right, it doesn't make sense. We're adjusting our numbers to what the central bank has actually reported here: http://www.bcra.gov.ar

Reserves at 31 Dec were US$43.29b and at 18 Oct were US$34.25 = total loss of US$9.04b. Since there has been 291 actual days in the year up to 18 Oct, the daily loss is $31.08m.

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