Buenos Aires, May 15 (AFP\/APP): Argentina’s central bank on Monday hiked its base interest rate by six points to 97 percent as the government prepares to announce a spate of measures to tackle soaring inflation.<\/p>\n
It is the second time in less than a month that the bank has ramped up interest rates as year-on-year inflation hit almost 109 percent in April.<\/p>\n
In a statement the central bank said the move aimed at “preventing financial volatility from acting as a driver of inflation expectations.”<\/p>\n
Local media claim the government will announce a raft of measures over the coming week, such as an intervention in the exchange rate and facilitating imports to bring down prices.<\/p>\n
The measures were prepared at the weekend during a meeting headed by Economy Minister Sergio Massa aimed at finding a way to tackle Argentina’s economic woes just months out from a general election.<\/p>\n
Latin America’s third largest economy is in turmoil.<\/p>\n
The peso lost 20 percent of its value against the dollar in a single week in mid April.<\/p>\n
It briefly fell to 500 to the dollar on the informal exchange rate — about double the rate of the official one — before stabilizing at 470.<\/p>\n
The central bank responded by pushing up interest rates by 10 points to 91 percent.<\/p>\n
Inflation hit its highest level in three decades in 2022, finishing the year on 94.8 percent.<\/p>\n
But it has kept on climbing and reached almost 109 percent year-on-year in April.<\/p>\n
The cost of living has risen by 31 percent since the start of the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Buenos Aires, May 15 (AFP\/APP): Argentina’s central bank on Monday hiked its base interest rate by six points to 97 percent as the government prepares to announce a spate of measures to tackle soaring inflation. It is the second time in less than a month […]<\/p>\n
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