The Argentine peso strengthened more in real terms than any other currency in 2024, boosting the popularity of libertarian President Javier Milei even as economists question the sustainability of high prices in Argentina.
The peso strengthened 44.2 per cent in the first 11 months of the year against a basket of trading partners’ currencies, adjusting for Argentina’s triple digit annual inflation, according to data from the Bank for International Settlements analysed by Argentine consultancy GMA Capital. That far outpaces the 21.2 per cent gain for the Turkish lira in second place.
The gains for the government-set exchange rate have been replicated on several legal and illegal parallel markets where Argentines buy dollars because access to the official rate is restricted.