Argentina’s holdings in the International Monetary Fund rose last month by the same amount as the fall in United States assets, according to data from the organization, in a possible indication of a new form of US financial support for Javier Milei’s government.
In October, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the IMF’s reserve asset, increased by 640.8 million SDRs (US$870 million) for Argentina, while US holdings fell by exactly the same proportion in relation to September, according to information published on the IMF website. On November 1, Argentina also made interest payments to the IMF totaling around 621 million SDRs, referring to the country’s debts with the organization in Washington.
The press offices of the US Treasury Department, the IMF and the Argentine Ministry of Economy did not respond to requests for comment. The Argentine central bank preferred not to comment.
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The drop in U.S. assets while Argentina’s assets rise by the same magnitude “is either an extremely interesting coincidence or it means that the U.S. is providing SDR financing to Argentina — presumably so that the country can make its November payment to the IMF,” said Stephen Paduano, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford and a former U.S. Treasury adviser.
SDRs are assets created by the IMF and distributed to countries according to their quotas. Fund members can direct their SDR reserves to other nations when requested.
In any case, IMF data does not confirm that the increase in Argentine assets is due to the use of the swap line with the US, and it is not clear whether Buenos Aires has intended the instrument for other purposes so far. On Tuesday, however, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged to MSNBC that the Milei government used a “small amount” of the swap line signed between the two countries last month.
The U.S. Treasury has not released public details about the terms of the deal and has not responded to repeated requests for comment on the support program since Argentina’s Central Bank announced it on Oct. 20.
Bessent offered Milei, a key U.S. ally in Latin America, a broad rescue package at a time when the libertarian leader faced a wave of market selling ahead of midterm elections at the end of October, when his party’s performance helped reverse investor sentiment. In addition to the US$20 billion swap, the Treasury also purchased Argentine pesos and began talks with Wall Street banks to structure more financing for the country.
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