Argentina's New Currency Controls: Analyzing Milei's Financial Strategy

The Argentine government has approved issuing 20 trillion pesos in LeFi bills to manage excess liquidity. President Javier Milei's administration implemented new currency controls to stabilize an economy with a 50% exchange rate gap. LeFis will become the benchmark interest rate while curbing inflation and devaluation.

The Argentine government gave the green light to issue up to 20 trillion pesos ($21.66 billion) in a one-year fiscal liquidity bill known as a LeFi on Thursday, its latest move to mop up excess peso trading. Libertarian President Javier Milei has rolled out a number of currency controls since taking office in December to fight a flagging economy with a gap between the official exchange rate and the parallel rate known as the "blue" hovering around 50%.

This month the government launched a regulatory framework to control how the central bank manages currency liquidity with banks. Starting July 22, the monetary authority will stop placing one-day repo operations with banks and begin to trade LeFis, which will be issued by the treasury.

The LeFis will be used to set the nation's benchmark interest rate, according to a central bank source. Milei has vowed to crack down on printing new pesos to pay for the central bank's interest-bearing liabilities. The treasury, in turn, will assume debt payments through the LeFis by adjustments to the budget.

Last week, he said monthly inflation and devaluation rates would need to converge to around 0% before lifting currency controls. In June, monthly inflation came in at 4.6%, a sharp drop from the 25.5% registered in December.

(Official exchange rate: $1 = 923.50 pesos)

(With inputs from agencies.)