Argentine Peso Depreciates 8.4 Percent After Exchange Controls Lifted

Buenos Aires: Argentina's currency dropped 8.4 percent against the US dollar as markets opened in Buenos Aires Monday, after exchange controls in place for six years were partially lifted.

The rate settled at 1,190 pesos to the dollar, according to state-owned Banco Nacion, well within the floating band of 1,000 to 1,400 pesos to the dollar set by Argentine authorities Friday.

The peso had traded at 1,097 to the dollar Friday, when Buenos Aires announced it would ease exchange controls after being granted $20 billion from the International Monetary Fund.

In place of exchange controls in place since 2019, the peso will be allowed to float within a band of between 1,000 and 1,400 pesos to the dollar, the Central Bank of Argentina announced.

The $200-per-month limit on Argentine citizens accessing greenbacks was also lifted after a weeks-long currency crisis that saw the central bank selling about $2 billion to support the peso.

"Expectations need to be tempered on this first day; we are prepared, but this is going to be a process," central bank board member Santiago Furiase told the LN+ channel Monday.

If the peso reaches the upper limit of the band, it would mean a 30 percent depreciation.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, would meet President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires Monday to "affirm the United States' full support for Argentina's bold economic reforms," a statement from his office said last week.

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