BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's central bank on Thursday yanked up its benchmark interest rate to 60 percent from 45 percent in a bid to control inflation running at more than 31 percent as the country's currency plummeted 15.6 percent to a record low 39 pesos per U.S. dollar.
The central bank issued a statement saying it called a special meeting of its monetary policy committee, which voted unanimously to hike its key interest rate "in response to the foreign exchange rate situation and the risk of greater inflation."
The moves came a day after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) called for stronger monetary and fiscal policies in response to the meltdown of the peso, which has lost 52.2 percent of its value against the greenback so far this year.
Despite signing a $50 billion standby financing deal with the IMF earlier this year, President Mauricio Macri is struggling to convince the markets that he can spur economic growth while he cuts fiscal deficits and combats inflation.
(Reporting by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jeffrey Benkoe)
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