Claudio Loser's warnings to the government about the dollar and the Central Bank's reserves

Economist Claudio Loser , former director of the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ), criticized the Central Bank's management of the foreign exchange market and reserves , stating that "the dollar is behind" and that the government should adopt "more orthodox and less dogmatic" policies to improve the country's overall economy.

" This isn't an earthquake, it's a warning . The IMF says the program remains weak in reserves. It's something the IMF wants to see done in all countries, not just Argentina," Loser explained in radio statements shared by NA. In this context, he maintained that while "there was a significant recovery in July," the exchange rate still doesn't reflect the competitiveness needed to improve the country's external situation. "The dollar is still lagging," he insisted.

In his opinion, "the dollar-inflation link isn't that strong right now," so he considered it crucial for the country to "gain competitiveness and see how it accumulates reserves." He also criticized official forecasts regarding the exchange rate: "They were wrong to think the dollar would drop to 1000, and of course they won't acknowledge it," Claudio Loser lamented.

Regarding the elimination of the LEFI and its impact on interest rates, he suggested there were errors in communicating the strategy. "I'm sure they were told 'have a more orthodox monetary policy, one with credit controls.' They should have an inflation-targeting monetary policy, which is what they're doing, but clearly. They either rushed things or didn't explain things well."

Despite his critical tone, Claudio Loser praised the fiscal reforms implemented by the La Libertad Avanza government. "The fiscal and monetary aspects are quite well controlled, and that's the important element for improving things," he stated, although he asked the government to "be pragmatic and not doctrinaire in its position."

Finally, the economist focused on the pending IMF disbursement, which he estimated "will be before the recess." In this regard, he stated that "the review will determine what needs to be done, but he will approve it and wait until after the elections. It's not a change in strategy, but in tactics."