BUENOS AIRES, May 2, 2025 (AP) — Argentina's Central Bank announced Monday that it will eliminate currency controls for companies in the energy and mining sectors, allowing them to retain 100% of export proceeds in dollars, while maintaining strict individual dollar purchase limits for ordinary citizens — a partial easing of the "cepo" that has governed Argentine foreign exchange for 14 years but left most Argentines still unable to protect their savings from inflation.
The measure, published in a Central Bank communication Monday evening signed by President Federico Sturzenegger, applies immediately to oil, gas, and mining exporters and will expand to agricultural exporters on June 1. Companies in these sectors will no longer be required to convert export dollars to pesos at the official exchange rate, a change the government said would attract $5-7 billion in new investment over two years and unlock stalled projects in Vaca Muerta and the lithium-rich provinces of Catamarca and Salta.
"This is the beginning of the end of the cepo," said Sturzenegger at a press conference in the Central Bank's marble-floored headquarters on Reconquista Street. "We're opening the economy sector by sector, starting with those that bring fresh dollars into the country. Full liberalization will come when reserves and the fiscal surplus allow it. We're not there yet, but we're closer than we've been in a decade."
The official exchange rate closed at 1,105 pesos per dollar on Monday, while the parallel "blue" rate traded at 1,142 — a gap of 3.3%, the narrowest since 2019 and down from a gap of nearly 100% in late 2023. The government maintains a crawling peg that depreciates the official rate approximately 1.2% monthly, a pace officials say is sustainable through year-end.
For ordinary Argentines, however, the cepo remains firmly in place. Individuals are still limited to purchasing $200 per month at the official rate, subject to taxes and regulatory scrutiny that effectively reduce the amount to roughly $130 in practice. The government said it has no timeline for lifting individual limits, which are defended as necessary to prevent capital flight and protect reserves that remain fragile by historical standards.
International portfolio managers said the cepo is like a bandage on a wound that's still bleeding. They've loosened it for big companies, which makes sense from a macro perspective. But for regular people trying to save for retirement or protect their wages from inflation, nothing has changed. You still can't legally buy enough dollars to matter.
The partial easing has already attracted concrete interest. Chevron announced Monday that it would accelerate its $1.2 billion Vaca Muerta joint venture with YPF, citing the currency liberalization as a decisive factor. Australian mining firm OceanaGold said it would resume exploration activities in San Juan province after a two-year pause.
Critics warned that maintaining a dual-track system — open for exporters, restricted for everyone else — creates distortions and opportunities for arbitrage that benefit large corporations at the expense of small businesses and consumers.
Economist Marina Dal Poggetto said the government is basically telling domestic investors they can't get dollars while rolling out the red carpet for foreign capital. That sends a message about who this government prioritizes. Small businesses that import components still face the same bureaucratic nightmare they've faced for years.
The Central Bank reported gross international reserves of $29.8 billion on Monday, up from $24.1 billion at the start of the year. Sturzenegger said the bank would not consider full cepo elimination until reserves reach $40 billion and the fiscal surplus is locked in for at least four consecutive quarters — a target that could slip to late 2026 if economic conditions deteriorate.
