The International Monetary Fund (IMF) acknowledged "enormous progress" made by Argentina on Thursday but emphasized the "need to continue adopting fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policies." The IMF also called for further structural reforms to advance growth, without elaborating on a currency jump or a swift exit from capital controls.
During a press conference in Washington, IMF Communications Director Julie Kozack declined to provide details about the new agreement under negotiation, stating that they were continuing to work with authorities in Javier Milei's administration. In this context, she considered that Argentina requires a new financial program to bolster reserves and thereby lift capital controls smoothly this year.
An IMF mission to Buenos Aires concluded at the end of January, which, according to the Fund last week, were "constructive." Kozack had to address several inquiries about Argentina but avoided providing specifics.
"What I can share about Argentina is that, as the Managing Director highlighted after her meeting with President Milei last month, we recognize the enormous progress that Argentina has made in reducing inflation, stabilizing the economy, returning to a growth path, and with poverty finally starting to decline," she said.
She maintained: "We continue to interact constructively with the Argentine authorities."
Regarding current negotiations, she highlighted that an IMF mission had recently visited Argentina and added: "The new program will aim to leverage all that has been gained so far, while simultaneously addressing the challenges that remain and that the country faces."
"To sustain these gains, there is a shared recognition between IMF technical staff and country authorities about the need to continue adopting a consistent set of fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policies while promoting reforms that enhance growth," she pointed out.
Diplomatically, she stated that "constructive and frequent conversations continue, and we will provide additional details about the next steps once we have them."
"I know you have a lot of interest and many detailed questions that have been raised here, but given that the conversations are ongoing and that there has been good progress so far, we want to ensure that there is room for staff and authorities to continue these constructive conversations, and we will communicate more once we have additional details," she said.
Meanwhile, Luis Caputo refrained from providing details about the negotiation but countered market versions and speculation that claimed conversations with the international organization included conditionalities such as a devaluation jump or the rapid end of exchange restrictions as a requirement for disbursements.
"The agreement with the Fund does not imply any devaluation, that is not an issue. The other point is that it also does not imply that once the agreement is reached, we will exit restrictions the next day," he said in a dialogue with LN+.