U.S. Treasury sells more dollars to support Argentine peso - report

[Banknotes in denominations of 1000 Argentine pesos and 100 US dollars]
Max Zolotukhin/iStock via Getty Images

The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday sold dollars through Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SAN]) in Argentina's currency market, sources told _Bloomberg_, in an effort to maintain the peso (ARS:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ARS:USD]) within its trading band.

The peso (ARS:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ARS:USD]) fell to a record low on Tuesday, approaching the weakest limit of the government's trading band. Traders offloaded the peso as they expect the currency to devalue further after this weekend's midterm elections.

The U.S. Treasury's latest dollar sale [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-21/us-treasury-sells-dollars-to-keep-peso-within-argentina-fx-band] aimed to cap Argentina's official exchange rate near the top of the band to help steady the market.

The move followed Argentina signing a $20B currency stabilization agreement with the U.S., a deal that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said "is a bridge to a better economic future for Argentina, not a bailout."

"We do not want another failed state in Latin America, and a strong, stable Argentina as a good neighbor is explicitly in the strategic interest of the U.S.," he added.

The Treasury already sold U.S. dollars for Argentine pesos at least thrice this month. FX traders estimate [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-17/argentine-fx-traders-estimate-us-treasury-sold-over-200-million] that the Treasury sold more than $200M to buy pesos on Friday.

Meanwhile, Bessent spoke to Argentina's Economic Minister Luis Caputo about curbing China's ability to access the South American country's resources, _The Wall Street Journal _reported. They also discussed giving the U.S. expanded access to Argentina's uranium supply.

U.S. officials reportedly said [https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/the-u-s-is-trying-to-drive-a-wedge-between-argentina-and-china-e4551dd7] they want American companies to be a primary source for Argentina's telecom and internet industry, instead of firms tied to China.

China is Argentina's second-largest trading partner and has invested across sectors in the Latin American nation, from telecommunications to mining.

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