11.   In a bid to appease the IMF, Argentine officials have since Wednesday stepped up calls to float the peso.

12.   Argentine banks, closed for a week now, are expected to begin floating the peso on Monday.

13.   But the news that the peso would be floated was received badly.

14.   The US Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, John Taylor, said the decision to float the peso would enable the IMF to go ahead with the increase.

15.   The government intends to float the peso, but adopt preferential dollar rates for imports of essential items, officials said.

16.   The move came three days after Mexico took a surprise decision to float the peso, sending it spiralling downwards and sparking the current financial crisis.