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Argentina Peso Stable On First Day of Float VOA News 11 Feb 2002 21:03 UTC 
Argentina's peso has held its own as the currency floated on money markets for the first time in over a decade.
It closed near two pesos to the dollar in Buenos Aires Monday near the level it has held for the past week.
The peso fell sharply in trading early in the day as Argentines waited in long lines to exchange their pesos.
But as the currency rebounded from lows of at least 2.3 to the dollar, it wasn't clear if the Argentine central bank had intervened.
Amid fears of a precipitous drop Sunday, a spokesman for president Eduardo Duhalde assured the nation the central bank had ample reserves to support the price of the peso.
The Central Bank said last week it has around $14 billion in international reserves. Bank officials say they are optimistic the peso will stabilize in the coming weeks.
A floating peso is seen as key for Argentina to obtain additional aid from the International Monetary Fund.
In December, the IMF refused to clear a loan to Argentina worth over $1 billion, saying the country failed to control spending.
Some information for this report provided by Bloomberg and AFP.
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