Argentina sets floor under peso as reserves dwindle

FILE PHOTO: People walk past a screen showing currency exchange rates at a currency exchange shop in Buenos Aires, Argentina October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's central bank is setting a price floor under the volatile peso in hopes to avoid a sharp plunge in the currency after an opposition-won presidential election last Sunday shifted the country firmly back to the left.

The peso edged up on Thursday to 59.68 per dollar, with the central bank offering U.S. currency in the exchange market at a fixed 59.99 pesos per greenback, effectively putting a floor on the trade.