And this is not a policy exclusive to Argentina. Following the macroeconomic and financial instability of the second half of the 1990s, the main emerging countries, especially those that have endured financial crises, have favored the accumulation of reserves as a mechanism to reduce the vulnerability of our economies and persistent exchange rate volatility.
Foreign reserves held by central banks have grown by 220% over the past decade, at double the rate at which reserves were accumulated during the previous decade. In the particular case of argentina, the accumulation of foreign reserves has been complemented with a strong sterilization policy with a number of absorption instruments to clear pesos in excess of money demand.