The Argentina had already received a first part of the disbursements immediately after the new debt maturity program was approved in March. At that time, some $9.8 billion had been turned over. A part of these resources was used to pay interest with the organization while the rest was incorporated into international reserves.
On Friday, the Board of Directors of the Fund approved the first review of the Extended Facilities program in force with Argentina. Also, It agreed to relax the intermediate quarterly goals to adjust them to the food and energy price shock caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but in exchange for keeping the annual goals unchanged. For this recalibration it was not necessary to request a waiver.
The audit corresponds to the goals agreed for the first quarter of the year, which had already had the approval of the technical staff that deals with the Argentine case led by julie kozackdeputy director of the Western Hemisphere Department, and Luis Cubedduhead of mission for Argentina.
In a statement, the international organization said that “The Argentine economy continues its post-pandemic recovery, but is affected by shocks associated with the war in Ukraine and broader global uncertainties.”
“Higher global food and energy prices are adding to inflationary pressures and challenging fiscal and reserve accumulation targets. Despite these shocks, the authorities met all quantitative targets as of the end of March 2022 and have advanced in the implementation of the structural commitments of the program”he added.
Faced with this scenario, the IMF said that Argentina undertook “to maintain the objectives of the year-end program with some flexibility in quarterly trajectories to adapt to shocks.”
The annual goals that the IMF considers unalterable are: a primary deficit of 2.5% of GDP, US$ 5.8 billion in reserve accumulation, and 1% of GDP in assistance from the BCRA to the Treasury.
Source: Ambito
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