Argentina - Economic Bloodshed As Interest Rates Hit 40%, Inflation At 25%

Argentina, one of the largest countries in South America with a population of 44 million could soon face another economic catastrophe after interest rates hit 40% over the weekend (the central bank introduced three successive rate rises in a week) and inflation is at a whopping annualized 25%.

The country is desperate to attract foreign investment and the government wants to reassure it’s population that it is on top of things, but with numbers like these, it is not surprising that many are doubtful of the outcome of these latest reforms.

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Mr. Gersztein of BNP Paribas, who still have large holdings in Argentina, stated: “This was done in order to stop the bleeding.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Don&#39;t cry for me Argentina. You think we have problems . Argentina has had to increase interest rates from 23% to 40% in the last few days to try and stabilise currency</p>&mdash; Wayne McCurrie (@WayneMcCurrie) <a href="https://twitter.com/WayneMcCurrie/status/993377352540442624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2018</a></blockquote>

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“It’s like you have someone in the E.R. You need to take very short-term, bold decisions. Then once you stabilize the patient. You need to take different decisions in order to make the patient get better and recover.”

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The government of President Macri explained that the Argentine Peso, which this year so far has lost 15% of its value against the US dollar, had to be supported most urgently which is why the central bank took the drastic measures.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Interest rates in Argentina for the 3rd in one week. Three times in 7days. <br><br>Current interest rate: 40%. <br><br>Tell me again how tough you have it!? <a href="https://t.co/YBlWXXPI7v">pic.twitter.com/YBlWXXPI7v</a></p>&mdash; Vusi Thembekwayo (@VusiThembekwayo) <a href="https://twitter.com/VusiThembekwayo/status/992679776971382785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Many Argentineans are still traumatized by the economic meltdown of 2001-2002 when Argentine defaulted on sovereign debts for a whopping $93bn dollars, leaving foreign investors unwilling to lend to the major country anymore. Banks went bankrupt and savers lost all of their accounts.

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Mr. Edward Glossop, who watches the whole of Latin America for Capital Economics, commented: “Risks to the peso have been brewing for a while, large twin budget and current account deficits, a heavy dollar debt burden, entrenched high inflation and an overvalued currency. The real surprise is how quickly and suddenly things seem to be escalating.”

Source:

http://www.financialstandard.com.au/news/chief-economist-update-crying-for-argentina-116387162