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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.

A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past the Central Bank of Argentina in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on April 30.

Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg
Updated on

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.