Argentine Peso Goes From Laggard to Leader—at Least for One Day

Argentina’s peso, the world’s worst-performing currency this year, reversed course on Tuesday and rallied more than any other major peer as the nation’s central bank stepped in with a $5 billion offer traders couldn’t refuse.

The government stanched the depreciation with a massive bid -- equivalent to almost 10 percent of the nation’s foreign-exchange reserves -- at 25 pesos to the dollar. After the market closed, it rolled over about $30 billion of short-term notes known as Lebacs, that were due to expire tomorrow, and sold about $3 billion in fixed-rate local bonds. Investors had worried that yet another plunge in the peso would derail the sale of the securities.