Argentine peso loses 30 percent of value after controls lifted

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The Argentine peso lost 30 percent of its value on Thursday after the new pro-business government scrapped the foreign exchange restrictions introduced by its leftist predecessors.

At the close of trading on the first day without the currency limits, dollars were changing hands for 14 pesos, more than 42 percent higher than the closing rate on Wednesday.

New pro-business President Mauricio Macri, who took office promising deep reforms for Latin America’s third largest economy, had announced the move Wednesday.

Economists warned the country faces a rough adjustment.