IMF hikes Argentina bailout package to $57 billion

Reuters photo

New Delhi: International Monetary Fund has added another USD 7 billion lending package for Argentina spreading over three year. This takes Argentina's total bai-out package to USD 57 billion.

In June Argentina and the IMF reached an agreement for a three-year, USD 50 billion standby lending arrangement, which the government said it sought to provide a safety net and avoid the frequent crises of the country’s past.

Argentina has already received USD 15 billion while it will get USD 35 billion by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, Argentina`s central bank governor resigned on Tuesday, upsetting President Mauricio Macri`s efforts to restore investor confidence and sending the peso sliding.

Former Economic Policy Secretary Guido Sandleris, an economist with a doctorate from Columbia University, was named as Caputo`s replacement.

Argentina has seen its peso currency lose more than 50 percent of its value so far this year amid worries about the government`s ability to pay its foreign debts.

Macri`s government has struggled to tame inflation expected to top 40 percent this year, driven by the peso`s tailspin. Argentina`s economic woes have been exacerbated by a severe drought this year that crippled the vital grain export sector.

With Reuters Inputs