Report: Argentina bought US$808 million from US to pay IMF

Argentina bought US$808 million in special drawing rights from the US Treasury to confront its latest interest payments at the International Monetary Fund without tapping a swap line shared between both countries, according to the local newspaper La Nación.

Unnamed government officials told La Nación the purchase was a standard balance-of-payments operation rather than a fresh activation of the existing US$20-billion swap line US President Donald Trump’s government extended to Argentina last year as President Javier Milei’s libertarian administration faced a midterm election crunch.

Press offices for the IMF, Argentina’s Economy Ministry and the US Treasury didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Argentina’s Central Bank declined to comment.

Argentina’s government purchased the US$808 million worth of special drawing rights, an international reserve asset used by the IMF, on January 29, according to the US Treasury website. Argentina had interest payments due on February 1 worth US$837 million, according to the IMF website.

Argentina faces the second review of its US$20-billion programme with the IMF this month that could unlock US$1 billion. So far, Argentina has already received US$14 billion of the US$20-billion programme it signed in April 2025.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent provided Milei, a top US ally in Latin America, with a sweeping rescue package as Millei faced a market selloff before his party won midterm elections in late October and turned around investor sentiment.

The Treasury bought Argentine pesos to shore up investor confidence. Argentina paid down the US$2.5 billion it had activated of the swap using funding from an unnamed multilateral lender in early January.