Argentina to use $7.5 billion from IMF deal to finance budget

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentine authorities have asked to use $7.5 billion of the $50 billion financing deal signed with the International Monetary Fund to fund their budget, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement on Wednesday.

That marked half of the 30 percent of the total that authorities requested be disbursed immediately, Lagarde said. The Finance Ministry said in a separate statement that the $7.5 billion would be sold on the market through pre-announced daily auctions conducted by the central bank.

The peso currency added to gains after the Finance Ministry announcement, rising 1.4 percent to trade at 25.53 per U.S. dollar as of 11:35 a.m. local time (1435 GMT).

A Treasury Ministry spokesman said the government would soon publish a letter of intent of the policies it would implement in the context of the IMF deal.

The IMF board is expected to meet to discuss final approval of the Argentina deal on June 20.

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