Argentine government postpones IMF debt payments until end of July

The Argentine government has announced postponing a debt payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) until the end of July.

The payment, totaling US$2.6 billion, includes two installments: one due next Friday for US$1.2 billion and another due in the last week of July for US$1.4 billion.

This decision follows a similar move made in June when the government and the IMF agreed to extend the payment of two maturities amounting to US$2.7 billion.

The Ministry of Economy confirmed that consolidating the maturities into a single day is a permissible action.

Previously, Argentina paid the IMF using Special Drawing Rights and yuan obtained through a “swap” mechanism with China.

Negotiations between the Argentine government and the IMF are ongoing as they seek to reformulate the quantitative targets outlined in the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program.

A government delegation, consisting of the Secretary of Economic Policy and the Chief of Advisors of the Ministry of Economy, is expected to travel to Washington, D.C., in the United States to finalize the negotiations.

The need for target reformulation arises from the significant impact of a severe drought on the country’s revenues, resulting in an estimated reduction of over US$15 billion.

Argentina and the IMF maintain a financial program aimed at addressing commitments amounting to US$44.5 billion.

This financial assistance was acquired by Argentina in 2018 during an exchange rate crisis and substantial capital outflows.