Investors are betting that Argentina will sharply devalue its currency after midterm elections this weekend, despite the US’s $40bn rescue package for President Javier Milei.
Offshore bets on the Argentine peso imply a 12 per cent drop in the currency over the next three months, which would signal an end to Milei’s efforts to bring down inflation by propping up the currency — a cornerstone of his efforts to overhaul the country’s economy.
The policy has drained the country of many of its dollar reserves — despite extensive aid from the IMF as well as the US — raising fears that the serial defaulter will renege on its foreign debt once again.