Argentina’s Central Bank bought US$53 million on Tuesday, breaking a twelve-day selling streak in which the monetary authority depleted its reserves by US$1.7 billion. A source at the monetary authority told the Herald purchases were due to the agricultural sector liquidating its exports.

The country’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a new deal are driving financial market tensions. Argentina has requested US$20 billion, asking for over 40% of that to be disbursed immediately.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva called the request “reasonable” in an interview with Reuters news agency on Monday, saying the administration has “earned it.”

However, some analysts believe the IMF could force Argentina to devalue its currency faster. The country has a crawling peg regime, devaluing the peso by 1% a month, but analysts fear the new deal could require a new scheme.

The devaluation expectations had sped up importers’ requests for U.S. dollars, forcing the Central Bank to sell the greenback in the official foreign currency exchange market. Economy Minister Luis Caputo’s erratic interviews on the matter, in which he failed to clarify whether the 1% crawling peg would remain in place, have also fueled Central Bank sales, several analysts told the Herald during the streak.

Gross international reserves during the selling streak fell from US$27.9 billion to US$25 billion, before growing to US$25.4 billion on Tuesday.

“Crop liquidation in March 2025 amounted to US$1.88 billion, 25.2% more than in the same month of 2024,” economist Hernán Lechter posted on X, indicating that the selling streak was not caused by the agricultural sector failing to liquidate exports, as had been reported.

“Streaks are bound to break,” Gustavo Quintana, an analyst and broker for PR Corredores de Cambio brokerage, told the Herald. He added that prices fell for futures contracts on the peso devaluation, and that exporters have accumulated grain and oilseeds.

“Many trucks are entering the port of Rosario, and that, at some point, translates into sales,” Quintana said. He noted that over US$160 million had entered Central Bank accounts on Monday as grains exporters liquidated currency, a trend he expected to continue. An extra US$90 million was liquidated on Tuesday, a source in the agricultural sector told the Herald.

“Of course, the more details of the agreement are known, the lower the exchange rate tension will be,” he added.