Argentine peso tumbles after central bank head unexpectedly quits

Argentina’s
new Finance Minister Luis Caputo arrives for a news conference at
Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Friday, Dec. 30, 2016. Caputo and Argentina’s new Treasury
Minister Nicolas Dujovne replace outgoing Finance Minister
Alfonso Prat-Gay who was fired by President Mauricio Macri on
Monday, Dec. 26.
AP/Victor R.
Caivano

The head of Argentina’s central bank unexpectedly resigned
Tuesday after three months on the job, delivering a blow to
the worst-performing currency of
2018. 

The central bank said in a statement that Luis Caputo
resigned for personal reasons. The peso, which has
lost more than half of its value this year, spiraled more than 5%
to 39.2243 per dollar following the news. 

Caputo’s exit comes amid negotiations with the International
Monetary Fund, which in June
extended Argentina the largest credit line in its history.

President Mauricio Macri asked to renegotiate terms of the
agreement last month in hopes of speeding up bailout
payments. 
The IMF, which did not immediately
respond to an email requesting comment, has so far extended $15
billion to the country and was expected to disburse an additional
$3 billion in September. 

In August, the central bank raised its benchmark interest
rate to 60%, the highest in the world.

Markets Insider