Argentina froze foreign bank deposits.

The Argentine central bank took the action, which will last 120 days, to stem increasing withdrawals and said it would analyze the situation at the end of the period. The measure affects about $800 million in private and state banks in the nation but had no immediate effect on the exchange market, which was closed for the weekend. A statement issued late last Friday announced the freeze, saying the central bank noted that “significant withdrawals” of deposits were registered in the last few weeks.