LatinNews Daily - 04 July 2025

*Julie Kozack, the director of the communications department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has said that discussions with Argentina on the first review under the US$20bn extended fund facility (EFF) arrangement agreed with President Javier Milei’s government in April “remain very productive”.  Kozack noted that an IMF staff technical mission visited Buenos Aires recently as part of the review, with the trip concluding on 27 June. Kozack said the programme continued to deliver positive results, stating the transition to a “more robust” exchange rate regime “has been smooth” and inflation was decreasing, while the economy continued to grow, poverty was on a downward trend, and the country had regained access to international capital markets for the first time in seven years. Kozack added that all this progress was “underpinned by appropriately tight fiscal and monetary policies”. She said discussions would now focus on policies to sustain the stabilisation gains, including by rebuilding buffers, particularly in terms of international reserves, to address risks “from a more complex external backdrop”. Kozack highlighted the close engagement between IMF staff and Argentine authorities and the “shared commitment” to the success of the programme. Asked about how a recent US court ruling for Argentina to hand over its majority stake in the state energy company YPF could impact the country and its need to build foreign reserves, Kozack said the Fund was “paying close attention” to the situation but could not comment on legal matters involving its member countries. Kozack concluded by stating that a technical delegation from Argentina was in Washington this week to advance discussions on the first review under the EFF programme.

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