Argentina Devalues Peso Faster While It Fights Reserves Drop
- Central bank devalues the official peso by 0.9% on Friday
- Authorities also raised repo interest rate to 24%, up from 19%
A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past the Central Bank of Argentina in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on April 30.
Photographer: Sarah Pabst/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Argentina’s central bank will allow a faster depreciation of its tightly-controlled peso, in the government’s latest attempt to contain a hemorrhage of foreign reserves.
The central bank is ending a policy of “uniform devaluation” and allowing greater volatility, according to a central bank statement sent after hours Thursday. It also announced that it was raising repo rates to 24% up from 19% and create savings instruments with rates that exceed inflation, as it seeks to encourage Argentines to save and invest in pesos.