Policy rate in Argentina

This is the official policy rate set by the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA), the benchmark it uses to conduct monetary policy. It is the reference price of money in the Argentine economy.

It is not a statistical calculation: it is decided by the BCRA board in line with its disinflation objective and the monetary and exchange-rate situation. It is expressed as an annual percentage.

Changes in the policy rate feed through to market rates, credit, the exchange rate and, in turn, to consumption, investment and prices. In Argentina, a country with very high inflation, it is the main tool for anchoring expectations and easing pressure on the peso.

It is a discretionary decision whose effects work with long and variable lags, and its real reading depends on inflation: with very high nominal rates, the real rate can be sharply negative or positive depending on how prices move.