🇦🇷 IMF extends Argentina review talks as economy contracts and poverty rises

Argentina and the IMF have not yet sealed the third review of the country's $20bn loan programme, and talks will run on for several more weeks, the Fund said on October 1.

A technical mission led by mission chief Joyce Wong was in Buenos Aires from September 21 to 29, IMF Communications Director Julie Kozack told a regular press briefing in Washington. The aim is a staff-level agreement on the review, which would then go to the Fund's Executive Board.

Reporters pressed Kozack on a run of weak numbers: a contraction in GDP in the second quarter, falling consumption and investment, a jump in the poverty rate, slightly higher unemployment, a drop in tax revenue and a rise in sovereign risk. Asked whether the Fund would revisit the programme's fiscal and growth targets, the IMF spokesperson said such issues, including the potential impact on tax revenues, would be discussed between IMF staff and the authorities.

The review is the first since Argentina's economy slipped back into contraction, and it leaves open how much slack the Fund will give a government whose fiscal surplus is the anchor of the programme. Poverty rose to 32.3% of the population in the first half of 2026, up 4.1 percentage points on the previous six months, and economic activity fell 2.9% month on month in July, the steepest monthly drop in six years. Argentina's country risk climbed above 640 basis points on September 28, its highest level of the year.

Completing the review would unlock about $869mn. The mission examined targets through the end of June. Argentina posted a primary surplus of 0.6% of GDP in the first half against an intermediate goal of 0.7%, on the way to a 1.4% target for 2026, Ambito reported. The central bank has bought $14.2bn of foreign currency this year, well above the $10bn annual goal.

The IMF approved the 48-month, $20bn Extended Fund Facility in April 2025. Its board signed off the second review on May 21, releasing about $1bn and taking total disbursements to about $15.8bn, even though Argentina had missed an end-December target for net international reserves. The South American nation is by a wide margin the Fund's largest debtor, with exposure of nearly $58bn.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva visited Buenos Aires in July and said Argentina was in a “much healthier position” than when President Javier Milei took office in 2023. Georgieva also ruled out extra IMF funding for 2027. “We do not see the need for Argentina to request additional financing from the IMF,” Georgieva said.

🔗 https://www.intellinews.com/imf-extends-argentina-review-talks-as-economy-contracts-and-poverty-rises-472826/?source=latin-america