To avoid using its limited foreign exchange reserves, the country also used so-called Special Drawing Rights – an asset created by the IMF to supplement countries’ official reserves – for part of the payment due.
Argentina reached a deal with the IMF last year to restructure a loan of $44 billion – the legacy of a record loan contracted in 2018 under former president Mauricio Macri.
The South American country is the target of the IMF’s largest aid program as it struggles with an annual inflation exceeding 100%, a severe foreign exchange shortage and a poverty level of about 40%.
Argentina also announced in April that it would use yuan to pay for Chinese imports instead of US dollars, helping not only to mend relations with Beijing but also to preserve its reserves.