Cannot use args to pass arguments to a pod - kubernetes

Question

I am unable to pass arguments to a container entry point.
The error I am getting is:
Error: container create failed: time="2022-09-30T12:23:31Z" level=error msg="runc create failed: unable to start container process: exec: \"--base-currency=EUR\": executable file not found in $PATH"
How can I pass an arg with -- in it to the arg option in a PodSpec?
I have tried using args directly, and as environment variables, both don't work. I have also tried arguments without "--" - still no joy.
The DeploymentConfig is:
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: market-pricing
spec:
replicas: 1
selector:
matchLabels:
application: market-pricing
template:
metadata:
labels:
application: market-pricing
spec:
containers:
- name: market-pricing
image: quay.io/brbaker/market-pricing:v0.5.0
args: ["$(BASE)","$(CURRENCIES)", "$(OUTPUT)"]
imagePullPolicy: Always
volumeMounts:
- name: config
mountPath: "/app/config"
readOnly: true
env:
- name: BASE
value: "--base-currency=EUR"
- name: CURRENCIES
value: "--currencies=AUD,NZD,USD"
- name: OUTPUT
value: "--dry-run"
volumes:
- name: config
configMap:
name: app-config # Provide the name of the ConfigMap you want to mount.
items: # An array of keys from the ConfigMap to create as files
- key: "kafka.properties"
path: "kafka.properties"
- key: "app-config.properties"
path: "app-config.properties"
The Dockerfile is:
FROM registry.redhat.io/ubi9:9.0.0-1640
WORKDIR /app
COPY bin/market-pricing-svc .
CMD ["/app/market-pricing-svc"]
The ConfigMap is:
apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
name: app-config
data:
kafka.properties: |
bootstrap.servers=fx-pricing-dev-kafka-bootstrap.kafka.svc.cluster.local:9092
security.protocol=plaintext
acks=all
app-config.properties: |
market-data-publisher=kafka-publisher
market-data-source=ecb
reader=time-reader