A power converter which converts electrical power at an input voltage into electrical power at an output voltage is presented. It has a power stage with a high side switching element, a low side switching element and an inductor. The power converter has a voltage-to-current converter coupled to the power stage to convert a voltage indicative of a current flowing into the inductor into an indicator current. A peak current detector receives the indicator current to determine a pedestal component of the indicator current in a first time interval during which the high side switching element is open, and to generate a calibrated indicator current by subtracting the pedestal component from the indicator current. The peak current detector compares the calibrated indicator current with a threshold value for detecting a more precise peak current flowing into the inductor, taking into account the effects of temperature or circuit aging.