The International Monetary Fund on Thursday approved a delayed loan tranche for Ecuador, releasing nearly US$500 million under a three-year aid program. The IMF board gave the go-ahead for a US$4.2 billion loan in March to help support the oil-rich nation's economic reforms, but massive protests led by indigenous groups erupted in October when President Lenin Moreno scrapped fuel subsidies, causing gasoline prices to soar.
Argentina's president-elect Alberto Fernandez said on Tuesday he would renounce the remaining US$11 billion tranches of the country's International Monetary Fund loan as soon as he takes office next month.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri met with his International Monetary Fund backers in New York on Tuesday, but there was little light shed on whether the body was likely to approve a key US$ 5.4 billion tranche of funds to the indebted country.