The Ministry of Economy reported that it reached an agreement with the IMF
to review the Extended Facilities agreement signed in March.
This is the modification of the reserve goals,
an objective that the Government saw as unattainable due to the continuous loss of foreign currency by the Central Bank in a context of severe drought that will affect the inflow of foreign currency to Argentina by almost US$ 10,000 million. , according to official calculations.
"The agreement is in place and today the press report of the staff would be known,
it would enable the disbursement and change the quarterly and annual reserve goal," they said from Economy.
Thus, in the next few hours the statement of the technical agreement with the staff (staff level agreement) for the approval of the fourth quarter of 2022 and the changes will be published, which in the next few days will be validated by the board of directors
to disburse US$ 5,300 million .
The understanding was reached after more than 140 hours of zooming between Sergio Massa's team and the Fund's technicians,
two face-to-face meetings with Kristalina Georgieva and three with her right-hand man, Gita Gopinath.
Massa negotiated the changes in Indonesia and India during the G20 summits.
In official dispatches, they also assure that the IMF "would enable monetary measures."
The Fund's staff had warned in December that the drought could reduce exports and the entry of dollars, overheating inflation and "jeopardizing" the agreement.
For the Government, the outlook was worse than expected.
Net reserves were to reach US$7.7 billion at the end of March, but the Central Bank has already lost US$1.4 billion in 2023
, according to Ecolatina calculations.
To avoid requesting a pardon or waiver, Massa asked that the impact of the drought, the war in Ukraine and the avian flu be considered.
The latest calculations from the Rosario Stock Exchange estimate the loss of exports at US$ 14,000 million.
The economy was betting on closing this chapter in February, but the negotiations were delayed amid the drop in activity, the loss of reserves and inflation that will exceed 100% annually in February.
NS