BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – President Mauricio Macri said on Monday that Argentina was close to a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund, while a government source said $3 to $5 billion in additional credit was likely to be announced in the coming days.
Macri said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in New York that the country would have more support from the IMF, but could not comment on what that support would look like as talks were still in progress.
The source, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations were ongoing, said that a report on the website of La Nacion newspaper that Argentina had secured an additional $3 to $5 billion in funding was “close to reality.”
The funds would be in addition to the $50 billion standby financing deal struck in June, after a bad drought sapped Argentina’s grain export sector and a run on the peso currency stoked fears the country would be unable to service its international debts in 2019.
Macri said there was “zero chance” Argentina would default on its debts next year.
Given favorable weather forecasts, Macri said that grains exports would “rocket to new levels of production,” and that the country would endure four to five more months of recession before an export-driven recovery would kick in.
Argentina’s peso currency opened 0.59 percent weaker on Monday at 37.5 per U.S. dollar but rebounded to 38.25 per U.S. dollar by midday, traders said.
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Source: Investing.com
