By Eliana Raszewski
BUENOS AIRES, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Argentina will roll out
a new 2,000-peso bill, the central bank said on Thursday, which
would double the face value of the country's top denomination
bank note, but would still only be worth $11 officially and $5
in commonly used parallel markets.
The South American country is battling one of the world's
highest inflation rates, with prices climbing 95% last year, and
a steady devaluation of the peso, which means Argentines and
tourists often carry huge stacks of bills to make payments.
The largest current bill, the 1,000 peso note, is worth just
$2.70 on the alternative markets most people use to
exchange currency, including through formal money exchange
firms. Buying dollars at the official rate is strictly limited.
Given the new 2,000 peso note would still leave Argentina's
largest tender as one of the lowest-valued in the region, a
5,000 peso bill is being studied, according to a source from the
central bank, though has not yet been given approval.
"The 2,000 peso denomination will be integrated into the
current peso series," the central bank said in a statement. It
did not directly refer to the rising pressures of inflation or
say when the new note would enter the market.
Bankers have raised concerns about the cost of storing an
increasingly large volume of bills in bank vaults, while
consumers and tourists often complain about having to fill bags
with cash to make even regular payments.
Argentina's tender has lost so much value in recent years
that one local artist uses banknotes for painting on because
they are cheaper than a canvas.
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Argentina: Paying the bill Argentina: Paying the bill (Interactive graphic) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Eliana Raszewski; Additional reporting by Walter
Bianchi; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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