ARGENTINA: President Milei to Meet with Musk & IMF as Crypto Scandal Lingers
- Argentina’s government ordered the anti-corruption office to initiate the investigation on possible irregularities or corruption related to the Libra coin, according to a decree published Thursday. As a reminder, President Javier Milei promoted this cryptocurrency late last week by directing followers to a site that purported to raise money for small businesses in Argentina using crypto.
- The subsequent collapse of Libra has led to a political crisis for Milei, with opponents calling for his impeachment and critics accusing him of lacking a moral compass.
- While this story develops, Milei is expected to meet with Elon Musk in Washington on Thursday and will also have discussions with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
- In local news, Argentina’s Senate will vote on whether to suspend the country’s PASO primary elections after the lower house passed the same bill.
- Data just released: “*ARGENTINA FEB. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE 47.26” (BBG)
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GILTS: DMO Consultations Also Factoring Into Bid/Flattening
To add to the recent bullet, a reminder that the minutes of yesterday’s DMO consultations with gilt market participants (released this morning) revealed that there was “GEMM support for "a reduction in the duration of conventional gilt issuance in 2025-26 relative to the current year [...] some attendees cited declining structural demand for gilts from the UK pension sector as a factor in their recommendation to reduce long issuance."
- This, coupled with the removal of hedging pressure surrounding the pricing of the syndicated tap of the Jan-40 line, is likely promoting the recent bid/cure flattening.
BONDS: Dragged Away From Lows By Gilts
The bid in gilts (covered in the previous bullet) seems to help wider core global FI markets off session lows.
- German yields now little changed to 1.5bp lower on the day, while U.S. Tsy yields are 2.5-5.5bp lower.
- Flattening biases also apparent on both curves.
- A reminder that Tsys are playing catch up after the observance of MLK day in the U.S. and resultant closure of cash markets on Monday.
GILTS: Firmer After Syndication Hedging Pressure Abates
Gilts outperform over the last 40 minutes or so, with pricing of this morning’s syndicated tap of the Jan-40 line now in the rear-view and any hedging related pressure passing.
- The offering attracted record demand.
- Futures to fresh session highs above 91.80 at typing, bulls eye resistance at the Jan 17 high (91.96).
- Yields now 2.0-2.5bp lower across the curve, with the long end now outperforming after some modest curve steepening ahead of the supply
