BUENOS AIRES, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Argentina's central bank (BCRA) on Thursday made 150 million U.S. dollars available for the currency exchange market, 50 percent more than originally planned with the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
The bank said it would do the same on Friday in a bid to counter the dollar's rise against the national currency, as the Argentine peso dipped in value to close at an average rate of 28.40 to the dollar.
The original plan was published on June 21 and called for supplying the market with 100 million dollars a day, derived from the first disbursement of 15 billion dollars among the 50-billion-dollar loan secured from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Half of the 15-billion-dollar initial disbursement was to go towards supplying the exchange market.
However, despite the 50 percent increase in the supply of dollars, the Argentine peso still fell by 40 cents, according to the state-run Banco Nacion, which posted a rate of 28.60 pesos to the dollar to buy for retail sales to individuals.
The wholesale or interbank rate was 27.79 pesos, 35 cents more than the previous round.
