Argentine authorities expect to conclude a staff-level accord with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by Friday, following several months of talks regarding the $44 billion program.
Minister of Economy Sergio Massa reportedly had a conversation with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Sunday, according to two officials from the Ministry of Economy who requested anonymity when discussing ongoing talks.
“Argentina would send a group to Washington on Monday evening to accelerate negotiations, although ministry employees have previously suggested such a journey several times in recent weeks, only to delay it,” the officials said.
According to a source with direct knowledge, some Argentine staff members still do not know if they will be flying on Monday. Three weeks ago, Massa promised that a deal would be made public within a matter of hours.
The government is obligated to pay the IMF approximately $2.6 billion by the end of July or risk falling into arrears.
In June, the Central Bank managed to gather a payment of a similar amount by utilizing its IMF special drawing rights and Chinese yuan from a currency swap line with Beijing.
Massa aims to revamp the country’s IMF program due to a historic drought and “policy setbacks” that have derailed the program. Simultaneously, negotiations have hit a snag for political reasons, as Massa is now the presidential candidate for the ruling party, making this round of negotiations a target in the election.
Massa and his team are striving to secure more upfront cash from the IMF as a result of the drought, which caused $20 billion worth of agricultural exports to be destroyed. They are also advocating for the ability to use some of the funds to intervene in the country’s exchange rates, an economic policy that the IMF has previously cautioned against.
