Argentina’s Central Bank said on Friday that it would issue higher denomination banknotes during the next two years, addressing rising inflation rates within the country.
The highest banknote is currently the 100 peso note, but the Central Bank of Argentina aims to start circulating new 200 and 500 peso banknotes by the end of 2016 and introduce a 1000 peso note in 2017.
It is reported that ATMs in the country regularly run out of cash during long weekends as they cannot contain enough notes to supply demand. The 100 peso note is today worth around US$7.50, having dropped in value by 50% since 2014.
“The incorporation of bills of higher denomination is a practical necessity for the better functioning of cash machines and the reduction of the cost of moving cash around,” the bank reportedly said in a statement.
Argentina elected new centre-right President Mauricio Macri in November 2015 following his promise to reduce imbalances in the economy and kick-start growth with the aim of bringing inflation down to 20-25 per cent in 2016 compared to 28 per cent in 2015, and ambitiously down to 5 per cent in 2019 according to international news agency Routers.