The official dollar trades at 1,500 pesos for buying and 1,550 for selling at Banco de la Nación Argentina, while the blue dollar operates at 1,545 for buying and 1,565 for selling in Buenos Aires, a 0.97% gap against the official rate. The MEP stands at 1,554.35 and the contado con liquidación at 1,651.28. The JP Morgan country risk index rises 13 units to 717 points, its highest level in 12 months.
A basket of assets linked to artificial intelligence reached a 0.88 correlation with the yield on the ten-year US Treasury bond and 0.97 with the dollar index over five sessions, while its relationship with Brent crude fell to nearly zero. Analyst David Scutt of Forex.com argues that sentiment on AI is now the main macroeconomic driver. On Thursday the Nasdaq 100 fell 2.90% and two- and ten-year yields dropped 17.49 and 18.69 basis points.
Spain's Ibex 35 closed the week down 1.74% at 18,989.80 points, weighed by rising crude prices near $117 and by the jump in France's risk premium to 15-year highs. On Friday the Spanish index rose 0.40%, driven by Repsol (+4.25%). Brent was up 2.77% at the European close to $116.30 and WTI up 2.72% to $101.18, after intensified Houthi attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia.
The global average rate for seaborne oil transport exceeded $20 per barrel, compared with $3 in the same period a year earlier, according to analysis by Goldman Sachs. The rise began with operational tensions in the very large crude carrier fleet in the Middle East and spread to other ocean routes. Goldman attributes the increase to the war risk premium in the Strait of Hormuz, ship-to-ship cargo transfers, higher marine fuel costs, route diversions and restrictions on the Iranian fleet.
InfraBridge sold its 50% stake in the joint venture Invenergy AMPCI Thermal Power (IATP) to funds of ArcLight Capital Partners. The company owns 11 power generation assets in the United States and Canada with roughly 5.4 GW of capacity. The deal amount was not disclosed. Invenergy keeps the remaining 50% and remains the operator. The agreement, announced in March, is subject to customary regulatory approvals. InfraBridge had invested in the joint venture in 2018.
The Ibex 35 closed flat for the session and stood out against declines in the rest of the European stock markets, in a negative week for markets. Repsol led the index with a gain of more than 2% after the Audiencia Nacional suspended its payment of 120.3 million euros under the 2024 temporary energy levy, while Indra was the worst performer with drops of more than 3%. In Europe, Germany's DAX fell 1% and France's CAC was weighed down by luxury.
Moderna shares fell 17.6% to US$202.63 after phase 3 data for intismeran autogene, its personalized cancer vaccine developed with Merck, leaked early. The trial, with 1,137 high-risk melanoma patients, showed a 42% reduction in the risk of recurrence or death when combined with Keytruda, versus 49% in phase 2b. The market had expected a more convincing confirmation. The stock is up 587.1% in 2026.
Italy's Saipem and Egypt's Modern Drilling Company (MDC) signed a memorandum of understanding, announced on October 22, 2026, to explore offshore drilling opportunities in Egypt and, later, in other Middle East and North Africa markets. The agreement is non-exclusive and envisages possible consortia, joint ventures and technical cooperation. A joint committee will coordinate the projects. No drilling contracts or concrete investments stemming from the alliance have been announced yet.
McDonald's hit a low near $230 at the start of October and three weeks later trades around $253, a recovery of more than 10%. The rebound comes as its comparable sales slow: they grew 5.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025, 3.8% in the first quarter of 2026 and 1.3% in the second, with traffic falling in the United States. The company keeps about 95% of its restaurants in franchisees' hands and expects to provide about $8.5 billion in support to those operators through 2036.
Chevron began a strategic review of its deepwater extraction portfolio to sell several of its oldest oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico. The bidding process, expected to last several months, could generate net proceeds close to 1 billion dollars. The company aims to reallocate capital toward higher-return projects such as Anchor and Ballymore, and to reach 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the basin by the end of the current year.
European imports of passenger cars from China rose 151% year-on-year in August to 227,810 units, compared with 90,498 in August 2025, according to Eurostat data analyzed by the ECG of the Association of European Vehicle Logistics. Between January and August 2026 the EU imported 1,105,239 vehicles from China, above the 1,011,563 units of all of 2025. In contrast, Chinese production fell 8.7% in September and domestic sales dropped 26%, while exports grew 61.5%.
The Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) published the official dollar rate for Friday, October 23, 2026, at 886.22 bolívares (VES) per dollar, compared with the October 22 report, reflecting a declining movement of the bolívar against the U.S. currency. The BCV also set rates for the euro (993.08 bolívares), the Chinese yuan (132.78), the Turkish lira (17.85) and the Russian ruble (10.85).
Eni raised its adjusted net profit by 125% in the third quarter of 2026, to $3.14 billion (2.8 billion euros), driven by growth in oil and gas production and by refining margins that more than doubled. The result beat market expectations. The Italian oil company also announced an extraordinary dividend and an expansion of its share buyback program.
The dollar in Mexico (USDMXN) gains about 0.2% and holds around $18.75, approaching $18.80, a zone not seen since September-October 2025. The rise comes as the dollar index stands near 101.6 points, close to three-week lows. The market assigns about a 91% probability that the Fed will keep rates unchanged next week and around 76% to a 25-basis-point hike in December. Mexican economic activity grew 0.6% month-on-month in August and 3.3% year-on-year.
Unilever said that by the end of 2025 it had cut greenhouse gas emissions from its own and leased sites, including factories, offices and R&D centers, by 77% compared with 2015, and it keeps its goal of a 100% reduction by 2030. The company structures its Climate Transition Action Plan around three levers: transforming its operations, innovation in products and processes, and collaboration with its supply chain.
The boom in weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro is changing the consumption of beauty products, especially skincare, according to L'Oréal. Its CEO, Nicolas Hieronimus, called GLP-1 drugs "a very important phenomenon" for the company during an investor call. The French firm already offers products aimed at skin sagging linked to rapid weight loss and raised its stake in Galderma to 20%. Its sales grew 7.7% in the quarter ended in September.
The dollar in Chile (USDCLP) rises about 0.1% to around 987 pesos in a session with mixed signals. The correction in technology and AI-linked stocks drove demand for US Treasury bonds, weakening the global dollar, but higher risk aversion reduces appetite for emerging market currencies. Copper gains about 1.2% on the London Metal Exchange and curbs the dollar's advance. Chile's producer price index rose 24.8% year-on-year in September, its highest level since April 2022.
Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines presented the new Electricity Procurement Regulation for Regulated Users, under Law No. 32249. The proposal includes long-term auctions with contracts of 10 to 15 years, procurement by time blocks and separate purchase of energy and capacity. The sector warns that auctions must be accelerated given contract expirations between 2026 and 2030 and rising demand.
Guyana expects to exceed one million barrels of oil per day by late 2026 and will channel part of those revenues into diversifying its power mix. The government is tendering the 165 MW Amaila Falls hydropower plant, with bids between 415 and 800 million dollars, and is expanding solar generation, especially in interior communities. The goal is to reach 80% renewable electricity by 2040, in a system that currently relies almost entirely on heavy fuel oil and records losses near 26%.
Global stock markets traded lower on Friday after a week of volatility marked by renewed pressure on tech stocks, high energy prices and persistent inflation concerns, amid an earnings season in which many companies are struggling with a difficult economic environment. In Europe, Paris fell 0.79%, Frankfurt 0.92%, London 0.53% and Milan 0.47%, while Wall Street futures pointed to a negative open. French debt stabilized at 5.07% on the ten-year yield ahead of Moody's decision on the country's rating.
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