The Argentine Government complied with the capital due payment with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an estimated amount of 975 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR, the agency’s monetary unit), equivalent to US$ 1,285.9 million, reported this afternoon the Ministry of Economy.
The commitment was assumed with the SDRs that the country received “under the current extended facilities program, in order to apply them at the expiration of the original program signed by Argentina in 2019, during the presidential administration of Mauricio Macri,” said the Palace of Treasury in a statement.
In addition, the Government transferred the funds corresponding to the payment of interest for the holders of Global bonds (under foreign legislation) for US$ 425.6 million, the statement completed.
These payments were reflected in the daily report made by the Central Bank on international reserves.
Compared to the day before, there was a drop of 1,767 million dollars, going from 42,218 million to 40,451 million dollars.
Last Wednesday, the Minister of Economy, Silvina Batakis, affirmed that the Government will comply with the agreement signed in March with the IMF that contemplates the goal of a primary deficit of 2.5% of the Gross Domestic Product for this year, sets a limit of 1% of GDP for the help that the Central Bank can give to the Treasury and promotes the accumulation of reserves.
“The agreement is signed, the first quarter is approved, the second is under evaluation because it has just ended and we have to work on it with the IMF,” the minister said in statements to the TN news channel, referring to the talk she had for the afternoon with IMF head Kristalina Georgieva.
Batakis defined this first contact as “a very good meeting” in which they spoke “of this singularity that the world is experiencing, an imbalance, how it impacts the Argentine economy and the continuity of that agreement that we signed very recently with the Monetary Fund”.
