Frightening FX Losses in Argentina; SNB Might Intervene to Weaken Franc
The currency situation in Argentina is becoming desperate. In a single three-hour period on Thursday, the Argentine peso shed 19 percent of its value as it slid to 41.47 to the dollar. The peso had already lost 45 percent since January. With the peso’s spiral downwards, default risk in Argentina moves ever higher, resulting in […]
Dollar and Yen Soar on Flight to Safety; Turkey Leads Turmoil in EM FX
The US dollar and Japanese yen soared on Friday as traders fled risk-sensitive currencies. Turmoil in emerging market FX is being led by the Turkish lira, which fell 15 percent in twelve hours after President Trump doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminium imports.
Ruble and Rand Best Performers During Busy Week for Emerging Market FX
It was a busy week for financial markets; one in which central banks disappointed, entire countries were in crisis, new leaders were elected, commodities thrived and Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran. With that said, emerging market currencies were erratic last week, and generally lost value, none more so than the Argentine peso which fell on […]
There’s a Crisis in Argentina: Central Bank Moves to Prop Up Peso with 40 percent Interest Rate
Spare a thought for the Argentine peso. The ill-fated currency of South America’s second largest economy lost 6 percent of its value last week, taking its twelve-month loss to 30 percent. Now at 21.82 per US dollar, the peso is worth less than at any point since Argentina’s fixed exchange rate system was abandoned in […]