The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the second revision of the extended facilities agreement that it granted to Argentina to refinance the debt of US$ 44,500 million contracted for the management of Mauricio Macri.
“The staff of the IMF and the Argentine authorities have reached an agreement at the staff level on the second review under Argentina’s 30-month SAF (Extended Service of the Fund) agreement,” the agency said in a statement.
The agreement, he continued, is subject to the approval of the Executive Board of the IMF, which is expected to meet in the coming weeks.
Once the review is complete, Argentina would have access to around US$3.9 billion (SDR 3 billion).”
The deputy director of the Department of the Western Hemisphere and head of the Mission for Argentina, Luis Cubeddu, specified that “the key objectives established at the time of the approval of the agreement, including those related to the primary fiscal deficit and net international reserves, will remain unchanged. until 2023”.
“Most of the objectives of the quantitative program until the end of June 2022 were met”he added, although he detailed as an exception “the floor of net international reserves”, as a result of “a growth in the volume of imports higher than programmed and delays in external official support.”
Likewise, he rescued that “a period of volatility in the foreign exchange and bond markets was stopped after decisive measures that corrected previous setbacks and rebuilt credibility.”
The Fund recognized the existence of a macroeconomic framework with “a more difficult global environment”but highlighted that in Argentina “market pressures are dissipating and the growth outlook remains unchanged at 4% for this year, before moderating to the potential rate of 2% from 2023”.
As for inflationary pressures, the agency noted that “they remain strong”, but that “a gradual moderation is expected during the rest of 2022 and 2023”.
That reduction, he pointed out, “reflects a combination of stricter macroeconomic policy frameworks, reduced uncertainties due to the sustained implementation of the program and the projected evolution of world commodity prices.”
