Argentina seals $20 billion IMF deal, tears down currency controls
Maximilian Heath and Anthony Esposito • 16hBUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -Argentina sealed a $20 billion, 48-month Extended Fund Facility deal with the International Monetary Fund on Friday and, in a major policy move ahead of the deal, dismantled key parts of its years-long currency controls and loosened its grip on the peso.
The IMF will disburse $12 billion by next Tuesday, while another $2 billion will become available by June.
The deal is expected to help Argentina "catalyze additional official multilateral and bilateral support, and a timely re-access to international capital markets," the IMF said.
"Key pillars of the program include maintaining a strong fiscal anchor, transitioning towards a more robust monetary and FX regime, with greater exchange rate flexibility," it added in a statement.
Earlier, the South American nation's central bank announced it would undo a fixed currency peg from Monday, letting the peso freely fluctuate within a moving band between 1,000 and 1,400 pesos per dollar, versus 1,074 at the close on Friday.
Argentina will eliminate major parts of the so-called "cepo" capital controls that have restricted access to foreign currency . . .
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/argentina-seals-20-billion-imf-deal-tears-down-currency-controls/ar-AA1CMkyM
