Investors Bet on 44% Argentine Peso Devaluation After Milei’s Debut
- Analysts hint at peso dropping to 650 per USD next week
- Move signals beginning of end for country’s capital controls
Foreign exchange rates are posted at a store in Buenos Aires last month.
Photographer: Erica Canepa/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Argentina investors are preparing for a 44% devaluation of the country’s official exchange rate after Javier Milei’s inauguration on Dec. 10.
While the incoming president’s team has signaled it won’t lift currency controls right away and seemingly delayed plans to scrap the peso altogether, the current level of the Argentine currency is largely seen as unsustainable. Markets are signaling a drop of about 27% on Monday, while investment banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and local private advisory firms suggest it will eventually weaken some 44% as Milei prepares to unwind capital controls that have spawned a hodgepodge of exchange rates.