MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

IMF to check Argentine new stats on inflation and GDP next month

Christine Lagarde has to make an analytical report to be delivered to the IMF board

The International Monetary Fund board has already received a first analytical report on Argentina latest statistics and will address the issue in its next meeting scheduled for 6 June, according to IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice in Washington.

 “The IMF board is scheduled to meet 6 June when they will analyze progress made by Argentine authorities in improving the quality of official data”, pointed out Rice on Thursday.

IMF applied the censorship mechanism (which could lead to the ousting of a a member) on Argentina given the lack of reliability and transparency of the statistics elaborated by the official stats office Indec, particularly those referred to the consumer prices index and GDP.

Following a series of discrepancies with the IMF, Argentina finally agreed to new indexes, and as of January this year changed the previous mechanism to estimate inflation, by a new one with technical advice from IMF. Likewise with the GDP index which finally showed that 2013 growth in Argentina was 3% and not 5% as had previously been announced.

As part of the understanding it was agreed that the IMF board would monitor the evolution of the new stats following a pre-arranged calendar of which the first 'test' will take place on 6 June.

The Argentine government must also implement other measures by September 2014 and at the end of February 2015. Managing Director Christine Lagarde is responsible for reporting to the board in the 45 days following the timetable, as to the implementation of the measures in the understanding agreed.

Under the previous Indec mechanism, annual inflation in Argentina would never reach two digits and if so never higher than 11%. With the new mechanism agreed with the IMF the latest inflation reading of April was 1.8% and 11.9% in the first four months of the year.

The non official but much respected index, released every month by opposition members from the Freedom of Expression Lower House committee, in April inflation was 2.8% and 15.78% in the four months.