As warning signs go, the plunge in Argentina’s peso on Thursday was 150 feet tall, surrounded by flashing lights, klaxons and a troupe of acrobats whose bodies spelt out “PANIC”.

Emerging markets duly dropped. The Turkish lira led the way down, hitting another new low. Yesterday was set to be the lira’s worst day since the post-Lehman crisis before Turkey’s central bank called an emergency meeting. Tensions spread into developed markets, while emerging equities fell 2 per cent, the worst day since last summer’s taper worries.

Argentina’s economy and markets are now so small they are all but irrelevant to global investors. Here is the case for fear: Buenos Aires is merely the first to be caught out by a dollar shortage as the US Federal Reserve tapers off its bond purchases and the tide of greenbacks which flowed into the emerging world recedes.