“The surprising victory of economist Javier Milei in the Argentine primaries shakes up the black market peso, causing a slide, while local equities experience a significant surge in response to the unexpected political shift.”
Argentina’s domestic markets have re-opened following a bank holiday on Monday, with international bonds and US-listed stocks surging in a post-election rally. The black market peso slid nearly 10% to over 1,000 per dollar after radical libertarian Javier Milei won the presidential election. Milei, who favors dollarization, aims to slash state spending, ditch the peso currency, and shut the central bank. Despite the surge in stocks and bonds, there are concerns about the future of the country’s currency and economic policy moving forward. Milei’s rhetoric has also sparked questions about how quickly he might pursue scrapping the peso entirely. The global financial markets continue to keep a close eye on the situation as the new president prepares to take office on December 10.
