Argentina has devalued its currency, the peso, by more than 50% as part of a package of large-scale spending cuts intended to address the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.
The plans, introduced under the newly inaugurated administration of Javier Milei, include cutting energy subsidies and cancelling tenders for public works.
His economy minister, Luis Caputo, moved to weaken the official exchange rate to 800 pesos per dollar – it had been 366.5 – in a televised address after the local markets closed on Tuesday. He said that the central bank would target a monthly devaluation of 2%.
Caputo said the moves, which were welcomed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), would be painful in the short-term but were needed to cut the country’s fiscal deficit and bring down soaring triple digit inflation.
Argentina’s central bank is due to announce new monetary measures on…
