Ecuador may use financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to balance its budget, as the South American country seeks to reduce a swollen fiscal deficit and its international debt, the finance minister admitted on Friday.
Argentina’s central bank said it bought US$ 50 million at an average price of 37.597 Pesos per dollar in the foreign exchange market on Tuesday, part of its effort to maintain the currency in a trading band agreed with the International Monetary Fund.
The International Monetary Fund has warned that escalating trade tensions could undermine global economic growth. In a new report on the world economic outlook, the IMF also warns of risks from a no-deal Brexit. For the world economy, the IMF is now predicting growth of 3.5% in 2019. In October, it forecast 3.7%.
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.
The Argentine government announced on Thursday new increases in public transport rates, some 40% on average that will apply from next January to travel by bus, train and metro.
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed on Wednesday the second review of Argentina’s economic performance under the 36-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) that was approved on June 20, 2018.
Argentina is in recession after its economy shrank by 3.5% during the third trimester of 2018, the state statistics bureau said on Tuesday. It was the second such shrinkage in a row after the economy shrank 4.0% in the second quarter, with respect to the same period a year ago.
Manufacturing in Argentina fell 6.8% in October year on year, while construction declined 3.7%, and in the first ten months of this year 2.5% and 4.9% respectively according to the Indec statistics bureau report. Firms were hit hard by a contraction in economic activity and the devaluation of the Peso against the US dollar.
The International Monetary Fund has completed its second review of Argentina, the fund said on Monday, paving the way for the country to receive US$7.6 billion under a US$ 56.3 billion financing deal.
Venezuela which is sitting on one of the world’s largest crude oil reserves but which is suffering the worst loss of oil production in history outside of war-induced outages is getting ready to share macroeconomic data with the International Monetary Fund to avoid penalties including possible exclusion from the IMF.