MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Argentina complies with IMF 2018 primary fiscal deficit target: 2.4% of GDP
Dujovne said primary fiscal deficit, which excludes debt payments, of 338.987 billion pesos (US$ 8.992 billion) last year, equivalent to 2.4% of GDP Argentina outperformed its primary fiscal deficit target for 2018, Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne said on Friday, assuring that the country’s standby finance deal with the International Monetary Fund remains on track.
Argentina registered a primary fiscal deficit, which excludes debt payments, of 338.987 billion pesos (US$ 8.992 billion) last year, equivalentto 2.4% of GDP, Dujovne said at a news conference.
The deficit was smaller than the target of 2.7% of GDP agreed with the IMF as a condition of the US$ 56.3 billion financing agreement.
Including government spending on infrastructure projects, which the IMF asked Argentina to take into account as part of the primary balance, the deficit was 374.25 billion pesos. That also compares favorably with the IMF’s deficit target of 378.0 billion pesos, adjusted to include infrastructure spending.
The government sought the IMF’s help last year to halt a slide in the value of the Peso. The local currency lost about half its value against the U.S. dollar in 2018. The run on the Peso helped fuel inflation to 47.6% in 2018.
Dujovne said he expected the IMF to transfer US$ 10.8 billion to the government in March, or about half his total estimate of disbursements for the entire year.
“We have met the goals set with the International Monetary Fund,” Dujovne said. “This ensures liquidity will be available for Argentina this year.”
The IMF says it expects the country to pull out of recession in the second quarter. Macri is expected to run for a second four-year term in October.
Argentina's financial deficit, including debt repayment, reached 727.927 billion pesos (US$ 19.308 billion) in 2018, or 5.2% of GDP, compared to 6.0% of GDP in 2017, Dujovne said. It is expected to fall to 3% in 2019, he added.
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Read all comments”Argentina's financial deficit, including debt repayment, reached 727.927 billion pesos (US$ 19.308 billion) in 2018, or 5.2% of GDP, compared to 6.0% of GDP in 2017, Dujovne said. It is expected to fall to 3% in 2019, he added.”
Jan 19th, 2019 - 11:22 pm 0How awful! poor Reekie, how can he possibly survive a success for the much hated Macri government? - and which disaster may follow this shocking event?
Ah, Don Alberto...your nick sounds pretty much like that of an old man living in a sleepy, provincial dusty town. However, you appear to know little if anything about the plight of many Argentines today.
Jan 20th, 2019 - 08:13 am 0I would give you a friendly advice: try not to fall in love with stories that convey the official voice without giving a say to other parties.
FYI, the Argentine government has been mandated by the IMF to reduce its fiscal deficit and the government is trying hard to do just that; inflation is expected to be tamed by drying up the place of cash in circulation -- at the cost of deepening a recession already well installed.
What is the result of having the world's highest interest rates, about 60 per cent?
Well...how many business you think are able to withstand the double whammy of those ski-high rates when consumption plummets and Argentina's own economic phenomena -- stagflation--festers? Companies with brand names that existed when I was a kid are closing down as we speak and people cry when managers read the names of those let go.
Newsflash to you, DA: I do not suffer the impact that many of my country people suffer, however I do have relatives and friends who do. As a result, I would be happy to have been wrong when three years ago I predicted the current predicaments.
”Poor Reekie, how can he possibly survive a success for the...Macri government?
Pity Don Alberto.
“which disaster may follow this shocking event”
Jan 20th, 2019 - 10:43 am 0Recession, job losses, drastic loss of purchasing power due to inflation - the usual. Although follow is the wrong word, since Argentina has already been in recession for the best part of a year.
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