Milei rejects calls for free float of Argentine peso - report

[President Trump Meets With Visiting Argentine President Milei At The White House]
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images News

Argentine President Javier Milei rejected investor calls to allow the peso (ARS:USD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ARS:USD]) to float freely and eyes keeping the currency within gradually widening bands against the U.S. dollar till late 2027, according to his interview with the _Financial Times_.

Milei said keeping the peso within such bands would temper Argentina's chronic volatility. "We have a program and we are going to keep maintaining it," he added.

Argentina's central bank lifted most currency controls in April, letting the peso trade within a band that gradually expands 1% each month. Some local economists said this policy led to the peso becoming overvalued earlier this year.

Milei said he had no plans to alter the design of the bands, and they would be "much wider" in two years. "The bands are designed so that they open over time - and the moment will come when they are irrelevant."

The president said investors calling for a free float of the peso were influenced by "local economists and consultancies, who have systematically been wrong on this."

As for the U.S. looking to set up a $20B facility funded by private banks to invest in Argentina's sovereign debt, Milei said [https://www.ft.com/content/b22f4076-3cb9-400c-98b3-071058219b9a] negotiations would "take time," but insisted the plan was still active.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan (JPM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JPM]) CEO Jamie Dimon said the $20B loan facility "may not be necessary." But he noted that the bank had "done special financing to Argentina in the past; if they need that, we're all ears."

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