US finalizes $20B Argentina currency swap framework, buys pesos

The U.S. Treasury on Thursday finalized a $20 billion currency swap framework with Argentina’s central bank and directly purchased Argentine pesos in a move aimed at stabilizing the South American country’s volatile exchange rate, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after four days of meetings in Washington with Argentine officials. The actions are designed to provide dollar liquidity to Argentina and shore up market confidence as the country navigates acute financial strain.

Bessent said the measures were taken to address what he described as “a moment of acute illiquidity,” and that the Treasury stood ready to take “whatever exceptional measures are warranted to provide stability to markets.” The swap gives Argentina access to U.S. dollar liquidity through the central bank arrangement rather than representing a direct grant of U.S. budgetary funds to Argentina, officials said. Bessent also announced the United States had directly purchased pesos, a step U.S. authorities have rarely taken in recent decades.

The announcement followed meetings between Bessent and Argentina’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo, who informed U.S. officials of Buenos Aires’ coordination with the...