The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) announced that as of January 2026 the limits of the exchange rate floating band They will be updated according to the latest inflation data available, which implies (at current levels) an increase greater than the 1% monthly rate currently applied.
Through a statementthe monetary authority also anticipated that starting next year it will begin a program to accumulate international reserves from the purchase of dollars in the exchange market.
How the exchange band will be updated from January 2026
According to official information, from January 2026 the floor and ceiling of the exchange band will be updated in the same proportion as the last known inflation data. In January, for example, the update will be 2.5%, in line with November 2025 inflation.
However, the monetary authority did not clarify whether the update will be carried out all at once at the beginning of the month or progressively until the established monthly value is reached, as is currently the case.
The floating exchange rate regime within bands was announced by the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, on April 10, 2025, and was part of the new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Until then, the exchange rate remained fixed and was only updated through the crawling peg 1% monthly.
The float between bands, on the other hand, established a free trading zone (that is, the price was set by daily supply and demand) with a lower limit (which was initially $1,000) and an upper limit ($1,400). If the dollar touched the floor of the band, the BCRA had to buy foreign currency to prevent the price from falling even further. And if it reached the ceiling, it had to sell dollars to lower its value.
How dollar bands have moved so far
In the current scheme, the float band is updated daily until it reaches 1% monthlyaccording to a scheme designed to widen the non-intervention zone: in the upper band it increases 1% every month, while in the lower band it reduces in the same proportion.
As this update is lower than inflation (which in recent months has been above 2% monthly), the ceiling of the floating band fell in real terms (that is, it was updated below the general price increase).
With these changes, the BCRA highlighted that “since the rate of sliding of the bands is not adjusted for inflation in the United States, the ceiling of the band increases in real terms over time.”
At the moment the lower band is located at $921.20while the ceiling is $1,518.52. The price of the wholesale dollar, for its part, is located at $1,439.3, 5% below the BCRA sales zone.
With the new scheme, the floating bands must reach, in January 2026, a floor of $893.37 and a ceiling of $1,564.77.
Initially, the floating scheme generated a 10% increase in the price of the wholesale dollar (it went from $1,078 to $1,182), but until July 2025 it remained in the lower zone of the band.
However, after the disarmament of the Liquidity Fiscal Letters (LEFI) by the BCRA and as the election date approached, volatility increased and the dollar touched the upper ceiling of the band, forcing the Central to sell US$ 1.1 billion in 3 days.
Meanwhile, between October 20 and 24, 2025 (the days before the legislative elections of October 27), the dollar price was again close to the upper limit, but the BCRA only sold US$ 45 million thanks to help from the United States Treasurywhich carried out peso purchase operations to contain the price.
New dollar purchase scheme by the BCRA
Along with the update of the exchange float band, the BCRA announced a currency purchase scheme with the objective of accumulating (if a series of conditions are met) about US$ 10 billion in 2026.
According to the official communication, The purchase of foreign currency will be carried out through the remonetization of the economy (that is, the Central Bank will buy dollars when there is an increase in the demand for pesos).
The monetary authority estimated that in 2026 the monetary base will increase from 4.2% to 4.8% of GDP due to an increase in economic activity, and I estimate that this will allow it to buy about US$ 10 billion in the market.
However, it made these operations subject to the supply of balance of payments flows (that is, to the balance of dollars entering and leaving the country) and to the evolution of inflation and the level of economic activity.
On the other hand, the BCRA detailed that it will buy foreign currency in the free exchange market (where those who must liquidate their dollars and those who need the foreign currency negotiate) for a maximum amount equivalent to 5% of daily operations, in order to prevent excess demand from triggering the price.
As an example, the entity detailed that recently there were days where operations averaged US$600 million per day and others where the amount negotiated did not exceed US$200 million. In this way, if a fixed amount of daily purchases were defined, on days of low liquidity the price could increase more than normal.
It was also reported that the BCRA will be able to make “en bloc” purchases. That is, carrying out operations outside the official market without affecting the price of the dollar. This can occur, for example, when a company or a province obtains a loan in dollars and, instead of offering it in the common market, delivers the foreign currency to the Government at a previously agreed price.
