Deputy Economy Minister, Gabriel Rubinstein and chief adviser, Leonardo Madcur, flew to the United States on a mission to close the latest staff review of the country’s US$44.5 billion debt deal with the International Monetary Fund.
Approval of the fourth quarterly review of Argentina’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) deal is of high importance for President Alberto Fernández’s government, which needs to strenghten Central Bank reserves at a time of low foreign currency inflows and a punishing drought that has dramatically slashed projections for the agricultural harvest.
If IMF staff sign off the deal, followed by the multilateral lender’s board. Argentina will receive a new disbursement of US$5.4 billion in fresh funds that will boost the state’s coffers.
Technicians from Argentina’s government and the International Monetary Fund have been poring over the country’s books from the fourth quarter of 2022. The country closed out last year with a primary deficit (excluding debt servicing) equivalent to 2.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GPD), an improvement of one tenth of a percentage point on the agreed target of 2.5 percent.
For 2023, Argentina’s primary deficit target needs to drop to 1.9 percent. Economy Ministery staff would like to discuss this during the upcoming talks in Washington, given the likely impact of the drought on the agricultural harvest and, subsequently, fro foreign exchange earnings.
SOURCE: batimes.com.ar