Argentina Hikes Interest Rate to 60 Percent, Peso Plunges

People walk past an exchange house in Buenos Aires, Argentina Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018. Argentina's Central Bank increased its benchmark interest rate to 60 percent Thursday as the peso hit a new all-time low. The sharp devaluation of its currency has led prompted Argentina to seek a financing deal with the International Monetary Fund. But the peso keeps tumbling and it has hit markets and investor confidence in Latin America's No. 3 economy.AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Argentina’s Central Bank on Aug. 30 increased its benchmark interest rate to 60 percent—the world’s highest—in an effort to halt a sharp slide in the value of the peso, which plunged to a record low.

The peso fell more than 13 percent against the dollar on Aug. 30, closing at an all-time low of 39.2 per greenback, after slipping about 7 percent the day before.