Argentine Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna said on Saturday he would not change his monetary and exchange rate policy, despite IMF calls for him to develop a monetary anchor to avoid a return to the hyperinflation of the late 1980s.
"There will be no changes," Lavagna, in Washington for talks with multilateral lenders, told Argentine radio. "No-one can be sure one monetary program is better than any other. The fund accepted that we will continue with our plan,"
IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler said his talks with Lavagna had been productive and that the two sides had entered "an active negotiating relationship," which Argentina hopes will yield an aid deal to help end a grinding four-year recession.
But Koehler also said monetary policy was one of a series of remaining hurdles that must be cleared before it will consider fronting any aid. He said the fund would work with Argentina to find a group of experienced policymakers to help design a credible policy.
Argentina's free-floating peso has plunged around 75 percent in value against the dollar since it was devalued in January after the government defaulted on part of the US$133 billion public debt, prompting sharp price rises on supermarket shelves.
The IMF has said Argentina must also resolve finalizing its fiscal framework, address banking sector problems, and reinforce the central bank's independence.
With so much work yet to be done, the IMF appeared to be signaling it is still not ready to resume lending to Argentina unless Buenos Aires undertakes significant reforms.
Lavagna said on Friday a new IMF mission would visit Buenos Aires next week, but an IMF spokesman warned that should such a trip happen, it "would certainly not be the final mission." The IMF itself has put no date on when such a new mission might head to Argentina.
Lavagna also said on Friday the IMF had agreed in principle to rollover of more than US$900 million payment owed to the fund in mid-July and was due to discuss on Saturday the rollover of more than US$700 million owed in July to the Inter-American Development Bank.
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