
President Mauricio Macri unveiled plans on Monday to raise export taxes on grains and slash the number of government ministries in a bid to balance its budget next year, as Argentina seeks a deal with the IMF to accelerate a US$ 50 billion standby loan program.

S&P said on Friday it may lower Argentina's long-term foreign currency rating from its current B+ grade, which is four notches below investment grade -- and on par with Turkey, Greece and Fiji. The ratings company cited the risk of worsening creditworthiness and exchange rate volatility as potential threats to the economic adjustment measures undertaken by Mauricio Macri’s administration.

Argentina's Peso suffered its biggest one-day slide in almost three years on Wednesday after the central bank sold reserves for a second straight day and the president asked the International Monetary Fund for early release of standby funds.

Argentina’s central bank auctioned a total of US$ 200 million of its reserves in two separate currency auctions on Tuesday after the peso hit new lows, the monetary authority said in a statement.

Argentina’s peso currency fell 1.42% to a record low close of 30.92 per dollar on Friday, weighed down by an economy slipping into recession, high inflation and uncertainty driven by corruption investigations.

Argentina’s economy contracted 6.7% in June compared with the same month last year, and 1.3% compared with May, government statistics agency Indec said on Thursday. June was the third consecutive month of decline following 5.2% in May and 0.6% in April.

Argentina’s peso closed down 3.86% on Friday and the stock market ended 1.44%, pressured by emerging markets turmoil, particularly in Turkey, and a corruption scandal that has touched some of the country’s top business leaders, traders said.

Argentina will need to raise a net US$ 8 billion in the domestic debt market in 2019 to meet financing needs that include a US$ 7.4 billion primary deficit and US$ 25 billion in debt principal and interest payments, according to a Treasury Ministry document.

Argentina's central bank said on Monday that it hiked bank reserve requirements by 3 percentage points, following a hike of three percentage points on June 18 as monetary policymakers seek to calm inflation and end a run on the peso currency. The Peso gained 1.9% on Monday against the dollar.

After a week of relative stability, the Argentine peso slid more than 2.5% percent on Friday, as an economic crisis marked by high inflation, wobbly growth and an outflow of capital began to bite again.