The International Monetary Fund’s executive board will meet next week to discuss Argentina’s latest programme review that would unlock a US$1-billion disbursement, spokesperson Julie Kozack said Thursday.
“The authorities have demonstrated a strong and unwavering commitment to the zero balance fiscal anchor,” Kozack told reporters at a regular press conference in Washington. “That fiscal anchor, as we’ve discussed here before, is something that we see as critical to underpinning the decline in inflation and to restoring confidence.”
The board meeting is part of Argentina’s US$20-billion IMF deal, one of the first major milestones of President Javier Milei’s economic programme, approved in April 2025. Milei has made progress this year in accumulating foreign reserves, with more than US$7 billion purchased so far, but beefing up the Central Bank’s coffers remains the programme’s weakest point.
It’s unclear if Argentina has requested another waiver for the reserves target in this review, though Kozack said last December it would be “challenging” for the country’s central bank to meet the target.
Argentina secured an agreement with IMF staff on the second programme review last month, where the Washington-based lender said Argentina would need to implement “corrective measures” before the board vote. IMF officials already disbursed the vast majority of the US$20 billion up front last year, a rare sign of confidence in Milei’s economic turnaround.
The IMF ultimately aims to have Argentina return to global capital markets, though Milei chose not to do issue debt earlier this year when Argentina’s borrowing costs were lower. The country was recently upgraded to a B- by Fitch Rating, a move that could put Milei’s administration closer to tapping foreign markets.
The IMF programme “is meant to support a timely and durable access to international capital markets,” Kozack noted.
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by Jorgelina do Rosario & Manuela Tobias, Bloomberg
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