MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina complies with IMF by lifting currency restrictions

Argentina's Central Bank on Tuesday night fully lifted all currency market controls with the dual goal of maintaining the current price of the dollar and complying with the demands of the International Monetary Fund.

Beginning Wednesday, all restrictions on payments for imports will be nullified and the circulation abroad of profits and dividends by Argentine and Argentina-based firms will be allowed.

Also, the ceiling for the amount of funds generated by export transactions that are exempt from being settled with the Central Bank was raised from $200,000 to $1 million.

The measures seek to achieve normalization of the currency market after the country's monetary authorities put harsh control regulations in place last March after the peso devaluation at the beginning of the year.

The regulations have been gradually eased over the past few months after the dollar maintained its level vis-a-vis the peso in the last quarter of 2002.

The dollar closed Tuesday at 3.25 pesos bid and 3.31 pesos ask. The Bank now wants the dollar to remain at current levels, although several weeks ago Central Bank head Alfonso Prat Gay and Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna said that the greenback should fall to 2.80 pesos.

The Central Bank is hoping that foreign currency will now begin to flow into Argentina in greater amounts, helping to ease the country's severe economic crisis.