IMF officials met to discuss the agreement with Argentina and define a new disbursement.

After several weeks of anticipation, the technical staff and executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) met to discuss the first technical review of the latest agreement between the financial institution and Argentina. This informal meeting could unlock a $200 million disbursement from the Fund.

The financial news outlet Bloomberg revealed that the members of the technical staff who visited Argentina held an informal meeting with the Fund's board on Tuesday, the 22nd, and that they would discuss the future of the program before the end of July. Prior to the meeting with the board, the technical staff contacted Argentine officials to continue the evaluation.

The Argentine government hopes that the IMF's board of directors will consider some of the program's primary goals, such as the primary surplus and reserve accumulation, to have been met. However, one of the factors conditioning the national government was the accumulation of dollars. The cutoff date for determining how many dollars the Central Bank (BCRA) raised was June 13, but market sources estimated that the BCRA fell $4 billion short of meeting the goal.

To address this situation, the Central Bank activated various mechanisms to accumulate reserves and better meet the agreement reached with the Fund. One of these maneuvers was the direct purchase of dollars settled by provinces or companies that issue foreign currency debt on behalf of the Treasury. In total, the National Treasury purchased $641 million between June 23 and July 17.

In addition to the meeting, the IMF published a report analyzing Argentina's situation, highlighting several challenges it faces in its external sector. The report noted that Argentina's external position in 2024 was weaker than expected based on its medium-term economic fundamentals and desirable policies, and that net international reserve levels "remain critically low." They also emphasized the need to move forward with reforms to improve competitiveness.

The Fund maintained that the Extended Facilities Program (EFP), to which Argentina adheres, "can maintain a solid trade balance, regain market access, attract foreign direct investment, and safeguard external sustainability." Another measure proposed by the organization is to implement " a more flexible exchange rate " and gradually reduce the exchange controls that still exist.