BUENOS AIRES/SAO PAULO: After a week of relatively stability, the Argentine peso slid more than 2.5 percent on Friday, as an economic crisis marked by high inflation, wobbly growth and an outflow of capital began to bite again.
Argentina's peso, like currencies in other emerging markets, has come under pressure from a flight of capital to safe havens in the wake of a string of interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. Argentina's annual inflation rate is running at over 25 percent.
The central bank sold $300 million on Friday to support the currency.
Equities rose elsewhere across the region. Mexico's S&P/BMV IPC index rose more than 1 percent in the last session before elections on Sunday, when voters are expected to elect leftist former Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to be President.
In Brazil, the Bovespa rose almost 1 percent as solid gains on Wall Street and relative political calm helped lure investors back into local stocks, many of which have fallen dramatically in recent weeks.
The index fell almost 15 percent in the second quarter alone. Domestic issues, such as a highly uncertain presidential election scheduled for October, have also weighed on domestic equities.
But in recent weeks, investors have often jumped back into Brazilian stocks during times of geopolitical calm, amid bets that some sectors are oversold.
Friday's rally was also spurred by traders looking to boost their portfolios before the end of the second quarter, some market participants said.
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