In Argentina, controls spawn soybean and 'Netflix' currency rates

A one thousand Argentine peso bill sits on top of several one hundred U.S. dollar bills in this illustration picture taken October 17, 2022. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/Illustration

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Jose Zegarra, a Peruvian tourist in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires, found out the hard way that the value of the country's peso isn't always what it seems as tough capital controls spawn an array of wildly diverging exchange rates.

Charged near the official 150 pesos per U.S. dollar when he paid for a meal by credit card, he discovered his dollar fetched him twice as many pesos at one of the city's flourishing money changers at what locals know as the "blue" exchange rate.