Argentina Taps Former Central Banker to Fight Currency Slump, Surging Inflation

Gabriel Rubinstein was tapped by Argentina's Economy Minister to help craft the policy response to a currency slump and the fastest inflation in three decades.

He served on the central bank's board during the administration of the late President Nestor Kirchner. He was sworn in this month.

Finalizados estos trámites y gestiones, desde mañana se integra formalmente al equipo del ministerio de @Economia_Ar, Gabriel Rubinstein como nuevo secretario de Programación Económica.

— Sergio Massa (@SergioMassa) August 21, 2022

Argentina's inflation has gone past 70% on political turmoil.

Rubinstein will play a key role in Argentina's talks with staff from the International Monetary Fund. This month is when the second review of the program is expected to end.

Before joining the economic team, he had called on the government to balance its budget and boost its credibility in order to increase foreign reserves.

He wrote on the social networking site that inflation could start to decrease at reasonable levels. There will be a risk of hyperinflation if we don't act.

The majority of the economic team was announced earlier this month. He is now part of a group of officials, such as debt adviser Daniel Marx and production secretary Jose de Mendiguren, who have held policy roles in the past.

Argentina is going ahead with utility subsidy cuts.

Argentina's annual inflation surged past 70% last month after the political turmoil in the country.