Top Strategists Have a Warning for Argentina Bulls Calling Rally
- Currency has led emerging-market losses every year under Macri
- Best peso forecaster in fourth quarter sees 26% drop this year
Men walk by an exchange bureau in the financial district of Buenos Aires.
Photographer: EItan Abramovich/AFP via Getty Images
Since he swept to office in 2015, Argentina’s Mauricio Macri has been called plenty of names by his left-wing opponents. But the label that’s likely to sting most for an investor-friendly leader is the one applied by global currency markets: world’s biggest loser.
Wall Street cheered Macri’s decision during the first full week of his presidency to lift foreign-exchange controls, even though the peso lost about a quarter of its value that first day. They praised a move that would create a more competitive currency, boost growth and encourage foreign investment. Yet it’s all been downhill from there. The peso plunged in 2016, 2017 and 2018, bringing cumulative losses to 74 percent, more than any other currency.