The Argentine authorities and IMF staff have reached an agreement on a 36-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) amounting to US$50 billion (equivalent to about SDR 35.379 billion or about 1,110% of Argentina’s quota in the IMF). This staff-level agreement will be subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, which will consider Argentina’s economic plan in the coming days.
The International Monetary Fund said on Monday that talks with Argentine authorities for financial support are well advanced and the plan is driven by Argentina priorities with a particular focus on protecting the most vulnerable.
The International Monetary Fund will move quickly to agree on a loan program to support Argentina but there are no details yet on what it will entail, a fund spokesman said on Thursday. However spokesperson Gerry Rice also underlined that the IMF nowadays has a greater focus on social protection, in particular towards the most vulnerable, ensuring the economy and living standards.
Argentina’s central bank sold US$1.1 billion in the foreign exchange market on Friday and the peso weakened 2.74% to an all-time closing low of 23.35 per U.S. dollar despite talks aimed at securing an International Monetary Fund financing deal.
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said on Thursday she is ready to aid Argentina and wants talks on a financing package to be finalized quickly. Lagarde said she instructed the IMF team to continue discussions on a loan program with the goal to “reach a rapid conclusion.”
Argentina Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne is due to meet on Thursday with IMF chief Christine Lagarde to request a financing package to help shore up the struggling economy, officials said. Dujovne will also meet with a senior US Treasury official in a key step in the talks with the IMF, which are likely to last six weeks, his spokesman said in a statement.
Argentina asked the International Monetary Fund for financing to help stem a run from the Peso to the US dollar that is sparking a surge in interest rates and threatening to derail the country's economic recovery. The sum requested is estimated between 25 and 30bn dollars, 500% Argentina's IMF quota and could be disbursed in two forms, a flexible credit line or a precautionary credit line.
The United Kingdom's International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, named a new Trade Commissioner to champion British trade with Latin America and the Caribbean, as the UK prepares for future trade agreements with countries around the world.
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook update for April 2018 has reduced its expectations of growth for Argentina this year, and its projected annual inflation rate largely exceeds the 15% goal set by president Mauricio the Macri administration in December 2017.
An IMF visiting team in Buenos Aires concluded its annual review of Argentina's economy and praised the efforts of President Mauricio Macri's nearly two-year-old government to transform the economy saying it has yielded significant gains, but also warned that risks remain.