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.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is set to issue sea and land warnings for Tropical Storm Krathon as projections showed that the tropical storm could strengthen into a typhoon as it approaches Taiwan proper, the CWA said yesterday. The sea warning is scheduled to take effect this morning and the land warning this evening, it said. The storm formed yesterday morning and in the evening reached a point 620 nautical miles (1,148km) southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, moving west-southwest at 4 kph as it strengthened, the CWA said. Its radius measured between 220km and 250km, it added. Krathon is projected
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