Argentina's exports hit record high in September
BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Argentina posted a $2.98 billion trade surplus in September as exports exceeded $10 billion for the first time, driven by rising energy sales, according to official data.
The surplus was $2.04 billion higher than in September 2025, according to the foreign trade report released Monday by the National Institute of Statistics and Census, known as INDEC, Argentina's official statistics agency.
The result marked Argentina's 34th consecutive month of trade surpluses.
From January through September, Argentine exports totaled $77.27 billion, up 21.6% from a year earlier, while imports fell 2.5% to $56.07 billion. The cumulative trade surplus reached $21.2 billion, compared with $6.05 billion during the same period in 2025.
Fuel and energy exports reached $1.78 billion in September, an 89.1% increase from the same month in 2025. During the first nine months of 2026, exports from the sector rose 53.6% year over year, according to the official report.
Argentine President Javier Milei attributed the energy sector's performance to deregulation measures introduced by his administration and increased oil and gas production at Vaca Muerta, a geological formation in Patagonia that holds substantial hydrocarbon reserves and accounts for much of the country's energy expansion.
"For a decade, Vaca Muerta operated at half capacity, with suppressed prices, currency controls and fear of investing. When we changed the rules, in less than three years, we began exporting like never before," Milei said during the Argentina Oil & Gas Patagonia 2026 exhibition.
According to figures presented by Milei, oil production at Vaca Muerta rose from an average of about 310,000 barrels per day in 2023 to more than 670,000 barrels per day in August 2026. Nationwide, production increased from about 635,000 barrels per day in 2023 to 932,000 barrels per day in August.
"Today, for the first time in history, we are just steps away from producing 1 million barrels per day," Milei said.
The president also highlighted growth in oil exports. He said Argentina exported an average of 128,000 barrels per day in 2023, a volume that doubled in 2026.
Milei defended the removal of domestic crude oil price controls as one of his administration's first measures to stimulate energy production.
Juan José Carbajales, a lawyer and former undersecretary of hydrocarbons, told UPI that the main factor behind the increase in energy export revenue was the international price of oil, which remained above $100 per barrel for six months.
"Crude oil prices explain much of this result. There has not yet been a significant increase in export volumes because transportation capacity still needs to be expanded," Carbajales said.
He said the Vaca Muerta Sur oil pipeline, scheduled to begin operations by the end of this year, would allow Argentina to increase oil shipments abroad.
He estimated that the impact would become apparent in February or March, when the new infrastructure would make it easier to transport larger volumes of crude oil from production fields to export terminals.
Carbajales said the results also benefited from increased sales of petroleum products, including liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, and natural gas shipments to neighboring countries through pipelines.
However, he emphasized that international crude oil prices were the main factor behind the increase in energy export revenue.
Regarding liquefied natural gas, or LNG, which allows natural gas to be transported by ship after being cooled into liquid form, Carbajales estimated that its impact on Argentine exports would begin to emerge toward the end of 2027.
Outside the energy sector, exports of manufactured industrial goods rose 23% from January through September. Exports of primary products increased 14.5%, while agricultural manufactured goods rose 14.3%.
In trade by country, China overtook Brazil in September as Argentina's largest trading partner.
Argentine exports to China totaled $986 million, up 23.8% from a year earlier, while imports from China reached $1.82 billion, resulting in a bilateral trade deficit of $831 million.
Lula's re-election in Brazil triggers global market sell-off
BRASILIA, Brazil, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- The re-election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to an unprecedented fourth term as Brazil's president triggered a sharp sell-off in Brazilian and international financial markets Monday.
Brazilian assets plunged as investors reacted to an unexpected election outcome after betting on a victory by conservative candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, who had promised strict fiscal austerity measures.
Brazil's benchmark Ibovespa stock index fell 10% at the start of trading, forcing the São Paulo stock exchange to halt operations for 30 minutes. It was the first such suspension since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Hours later, after trading resumed, the index was down about 15.81%.
Lula's victory upended market expectations. Most polls published in recent weeks had shown Bolsonaro leading ahead of the runoff election following his surprise first-round victory.
Historical precedent also favored Bolsonaro. No candidate who finished second in the first round had previously managed to reverse the result in a runoff.
Lula's comeback victory, with 51.4% of the vote, surprised investors, who are now assessing the potential effects of his new term on interest rates, exchange rates, stocks and public finances, Brazilian news outlet G1 reported.
The reaction was equally severe in currency markets.
The U.S. dollar climbed above 5.60 Brazilian reais, gaining more than 12% from Friday's close. The Brazilian currency, which had benefited from expectations of a Bolsonaro victory, depreciated sharply.
The sell-off extended to Wall Street, where major Brazilian companies trade through American depositary receipts, or ADRs.
Before Brazil's stock market opened, the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF, known as EWZ, which tracks shares of major Brazilian companies and trades in the United States, plunged as much as 26.74%. Meanwhile, the real lost more than 10% in futures contracts traded in Chicago. Similar signs of market panic appeared on Japanese exchanges hours earlier.
Economic analysts at institutions including JPMorgan and ING said investors were reacting to the lack of clarity surrounding Lula's fiscal proposals during the campaign, Argentine newspaper La Nación reported.
Public finances remain the "Achilles' heel" of Brazil's economy because of structural budget constraints. About 80% of government spending is allocated to mandatory expenditures, including pensions and social security, leaving authorities with extremely limited fiscal flexibility.
Lula da Silva's new government faces the difficult challenge of balancing increased spending on social programs with public debt at a historic high of 82.9% of gross domestic product. Debt has resumed its upward trajectory following the introduction of extensive subsidy and financial assistance packages by the government during the election campaign.
The administration will also face immediate pressure to address public discontent over high food prices and declining purchasing power amid a sharp economic slowdown and elevated interest rates that are restricting private-sector lending.
To advance potential economic reforms and implement new tax measures, the leftist president will have to negotiate with a predominantly conservative Congress closely aligned with Bolsonaro.
