Argentina, Brazil to drop U.S. dollar in bilateral commercial transactions

[Judi Lynn]

Argentina, Brazil to drop U.S. dollar in bilateral commercial transactions


www.chinaview.cn 2008-03-16 14:03:09

BUENOS AIRES, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Argentina and Brazil are to scrap bilateral commercial transactions in U.S. dollars and start using their own currencies from August, an official in charge of currency settlement at the Argentine Central Bank said here Saturday.

The new payment system is aimed at reducing costs in commercial transactions and would benefit small and medium-sized enterprises, the official said.

Under the new system, there will be a unified exchange rate between the real and peso, the so-called reference rate, which will be applied by Brazilian and Argentine central banks at the end of each day.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reached an agreement to establish a new payment system with his Argentine counterpart Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner during his visit to Argentina in February.

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/16/content_7800121.htm