As Argentina Suffers, Macri Seeks Temporary Truce With Fernandez

(Bloomberg) -- It took three days and a 25% plunge in the peso for Argentine President Mauricio Macri to reach out to the winner of Sunday’s primary vote -- initially through a WhatsApp message.

The message led to a “long and good” phone call between the two, the first since Alberto Fernandez’s resounding victory turned him into the clear favorite to win the Oct. 27 election. “He’s willing to help as much as possible to ensure that this electoral process, and all the uncertainty it creates, has the least possible impact on the economy and Argentines,” Macri tweeted after the call.

A spokesman for Fernandez confirmed the phone call took place. Earlier, Fernandez himself acknowledged having received a text message from the president. “I was teaching at the university, saw the message but couldn’t answer,” he told reporters outside of his campaign headquarters in Buenos Aires.

Traders Scramble to Price Argentina Amid Bottomless Rout

Markets have been eager for signs of policy coordination and concrete measures to staunch the sell-off. So far, however, investors seem to be unconvinced -- the peso added to losses for a third consecutive day and bonds sank further into distress with investment firms boosting odds of a debt default in coming years.

Fernandez “showed willingness to try to bring calm to the markets with respect to the risks of an eventual change in power,” Macri addded in his tweet.

--With assistance from Patrick Gillespie.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jorgelina do Rosario in Buenos Aires at jdorosario@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Walter Brandimarte, Daniel Cancel

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