BUENOS AIRES, May 5, 2018 (News Wires) - Argentina's government and central bank jolted the country's battered currency back to life with a set of announcements intended to restore confidence in the president's ability to deliver sustainable growth while cutting inflation. The central bank sharply raised its monetary policy rate to 40 per cent, sparking a 4.78 per cent jump in the local peso while the government cut its fiscal deficit target to 2.7 per cent of GDP. The moves followed a week of dramatic weakening in the peso, which sank 7.83 per cent just on Thursday to 23 per US dollar. After the announcements Friday, the currency strengthened to 21.95 to the greenback. The bank said it would keep using all tools at its disposal in its effort to reach the country's 15 per cent inflation target for this year. Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne told reporters the government stood by the 15 per cent target and supported the central bank's efforts. Private economists and investors have complained about the slow pace of progress in narrowing the primary fiscal deficit, which does not include interest payments on debt. The target had been 3.2 per cent of GDP before Dujovne tightened it to 2.7 per cent. Speaking about the 0.5 percentage point cut in the deficit target, Dujovne said "part of the cut comes from greater than expected resources at our disposal, because tax collection is evolving better." The rest will come from an increased effort at generating savings, he added. "We have systematically hit our fiscal targets," Dujovne said. "Argentina will maintain the economic growth that started a year ago and continue to create jobs and lower poverty." The government has adopted policies aimed at spurring economic growth ahead of President Mauricio Macri's expected 2019 re-election bid. The perception of political pressure on the bank to grease economic activity by keeping the money tap open had cast doubt on its willingness to raise interest rates.
