Exchanging Currency

[TejanoLibre]

Interesting. That's logical if people expect inflation to go through the roof. A friend of mine owned an ice cream store in the late 80's and early 90's, before the peso was fixed to the dollar. At one point she was shuttling around town, having to buy ingredients two or three times a day to deal with the hyperinflation. It peaked at 20,000% per year in 1990. What kind of idiots in government allow something like that to happen? And why don't they learn from the past.

I think that it's a combination of inflation and importation controls.

You won't be able to buy imported goods at a reasonable price anywhere.

But when that Japanese TV or whatever breaks you won't be able to find spare parts either!

I think?

TL.

[Tiny12]

On Friday, Easy had posted new signs on every appliance in their store advising consumers that the appliances on the showroom floor were the last of such items to be sold, and indeed consumers were buying the display items off the shelf as I watched, with approximately 25% of the displays having already been sold.

Also on Friday, I went back to Coto Abasto to actually buy the refrigerator I had selected, but the line waiting for service at the appliance desk was several dozen customers in length, so I left for the day.

On Saturday, I returned to Coto Abasto at noon to discover that overnight Coto had raised all the prices of all their appliances by approximately 10% across the board.

Interesting. That's logical if people expect inflation to go through the roof. A friend of mine owned an ice cream store in the late 80's and early 90's, before the peso was fixed to the dollar. At one point she was shuttling around town, having to buy ingredients two or three times a day to deal with the hyperinflation. It peaked at 20,000% per year in 1990. What kind of idiots in government allow something like that to happen? And why don't they learn from the past.

[DavieW]

And yes, I'm aware that it's not actually going to be 'easy' for your average Argentinian to get their hands on the USD, but the fact that it's now legal to do so surely means that some of them will? It doesn't necessarily mean the blue rate will plunge in value, but it should mean the delta between the blue and official rate gets smaller. In fact it's already dropped from 60% to 50%.

What would be really scary for us is if they decide to let the peso float to find its real level, then we'd lose our beloved blue dollar altogether. :-/

[DavieW]

I got 11.90 today at my usual dealer.
Just to keep them honest I went to the little phone shop in the galeria at the start of Florida on the way there to do a sanity check and was offered 11.80.

The biggest change appears to be the spread being shown on lanacion/ambito etc, but on the street they still seem to be offering 20-25 centavos less than the Venta price on those sights, so that spread seems to be a myth.

Despite the rise on yesterday's price I'm convinced the Blue dollar can only go down if the government continues down this path - it should be easier for locals to get USD, lowering the blue market demand, right? So, theoretically the delta between the official and the blue should start to close up. Of course, if they don't also take measures to hold back inflation and it starts to spiral out of control, the demand for dollars would actually get even more crazy and the delta could continue to expand!

Hey, if I could actually predict what's going to happen with any kind of accuracy I'd be making a fortune! :-)

[Gandolf50]

I haven't changed today but last night DolarBlue was 9.50/11.00. I just checked now and its 11.30 comprar and 12.30 for venta. LOL! I guess Axels latest scheme didn't pan pout so well!

[Canardly]

They were offering 11 on Calle Florida this morning.....better tomorrow I expect.

Has anyone exchanged any cash today?

The spread on Ambito.com was approximately 20%!

$10,150 Compra vs. $12,150 Venta.

Thanks,

Jax.

[Jackson]

Has anyone exchanged any cash today?

The spread on Ambito.com was approximately 20%!

$10,150 Compra vs. $12,150 Venta.

Thanks,

Jax.

[Tres3]

The BBC article said that the "unofficial rate" is 13:1. With the currency in freefall, maybe we should offer to pay the girls in US dollars?

Never ever offer to pay a girl in anything but Pesos. If you need an explanation, you are lost and understand little or nothing about the Argentine mentality.

Tres3.

[Jackson]

Greetings Everyone,

This week I've been shopping for a new refrigerator for the house, which had me returning to the same retail stores several days in a row.

On Thursday in both Easy and Coto there was an observable increase in customers buying large ticket items, most notably flat screen TVs as consumers were presumably taking advantage of the peso collapse by cashing in their dollars at the new rates and going on a buying spree.

On Friday, Easy had posted new signs on every appliance in their store advising consumers that the appliances on the showroom floor were the last of such items to be sold, and indeed consumers were buying the display items off the shelf as I watched, with approximately 25% of the displays having already been sold.

Also on Friday, I went back to Coto Abasto to actually buy the refrigerator I had selected, but the line waiting for service at the appliance desk was several dozen customers in length, so I left for the day.

On Saturday, I returned to Coto Abasto at noon to discover that overnight Coto had raised all the prices of all their appliances by approximately 10% across the board. Fuckers! So where are Christina's Price Police now, as I am witnessing an obvious case of actual profiteering and price gouging.

Anyway, I am returning to Coto this afternoon, but this time to stock up on canned goods and bottled water.

As a related issue, I was amused to read this quote from a FT blogger...

"I don't even consider Argentina a real country - it's rather a mafia organisation with a flag, a national anthem and a soccer team."

Thanks,

Jax

[Thomaso276]

Inflation hit coming soon, thanks to Govt plan set for Monday. Merchants raising prices today. Argie friends of mine writing new prices on clothing tags in their Florida Street stores. McDonalds pulled down their product price list they always post on the wall. Manager says they are adjusting prices. Please post price changes you may see at clubs cafes.

Hang on to your hats.

[Gandolf50]

Argentina to ease foreign exchange controls after peso slump.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25877391

What they say is one thing. Lets see if they actually do it. Supposedly most people (average working class people who have bank accounts etc). Can buy dollars under the current guide lines. But very, very, very few applications to buy get approved..

[Flexible Horn]

Argentina to ease foreign exchange controls after peso slump.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25877391

[NewOrleans]

Initially they were offering 10. I said no thanks I can get 11.40 in Paleremo. They then offered 11 and I said 11.20. They went with it but the guy in the store was not so happy about it.

[AllIWantIsLove]

I was surprised and disappointed after the messages flying around yesterday afternoon. But this place seems to have a solid reputation so I took it.

I finally remembered to pick up a business card today. It gives three phone numbers: 4806-0094, 4806-0504, and 4808-0049. The hours printed on the card are M-F 9-5 and Sat. 10 am-1 pm.

[Thomaso276]

Market pretty much shut down today. Silence on Florida. All newspapers say Monday will be key day. Blue dropped 1 peso this morning. Lots of confusion.