Argentina says US Treasury will continue to support peso

Economy Minister Luis Caputo said the US remains committed to a US$20 billion currency-swap line with Argentina, regardless of the outcome of midterm elections later this month. 

The US Treasury is still finalising details of the swap line, but a decision to make it available to Argentina has already been made, Caputo told reporters in Washington, adding that the US administration will continue to support the peso as needed.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump suggested during a meeting with Javier Milei in the White House that the financial lifeline could be contingent on the libertarian Argentine leader’s success in the election. It was not clear if he meant the October 26 legislative midterm election or the 2027 presidential vote when Milei is expected to seek re-election. Caputo said Trump’s comments had been misinterpreted.

“Obviously he did not refer to that, but the continuity of the policies,” Caputo said when asked about Trump’s comment. “The ‘whatever it takes’ support that the US is giving Argentines continues.”

Caputo declined to comment on how much the US Treasury had intervened in the local currency market last week, but said more actions are possible. Caputo did not say when the swap may be finalised.

“The US Treasury has all the instruments on the table to act when it believes convenient in the different markets. It could be the FX, the financial FX, dollar futures, or buying bonds.”

Asked about the future of the current currency swap line with China, Caputo said that ending it is “not a possibility.”