The International Monetary Fund (IMF) highlighted the progress made by the Milei government on economic stabilization, falling inflation, and rising reserves. The fund added that whether Argentina returns to international debt markets is up to the country’s own authorities.

The message came from Julie Kozak, director of the IMF’s communications department, at her regular press briefing in Washington.

“Argentina is continuing to make important progress in restoring macroeconomic stability, strengthening the country’s resilience and economic resilience, and creating a more open and efficient economy,” she said.

She also noted that “growth has continued, inflation is falling, international reserves are being rebuilt, and financing conditions have continued to improve for Argentina.”

Argentina’s GDP grew 2.3% in the first quarter of 2026, according to data from statistics institute INDEC released this week.

The Central Bank, for its part, met its US$10 billion full-year dollar-buying target with the IMF in just six months, while inflation slowed again in April (2.6%) and May (2.1%) after peaking in March (3.4%).

At another point in the briefing, Kozak addressed the labor reform pushed by Milei and noted that it’s still too early to gauge its results: “The labor reform that has been put in place recently is relatively new, is relatively recent, and the effect of these kinds of reforms takes time to emerge.”

The goal, Kozak added, “is to support formal job creation and to improve the functioning of the labor market.”

A return to foreign markets?

The IMF spokesperson declined to weigh in on whether now is the right time for the Argentine government to return to the international debt market.

“Decisions regarding the timing and the terms of market access are ultimate decisions to be made by the authorities,” she stressed.

Shortly before, though, she had noted that the trend in financial indicators supports the prospect of regaining access to foreign financing.

“Market sentiment to Argentina has become more favorable, and this reflects in upgrades by two credit rating agencies,” Kozak said, referring to Fitch and S&P Global Ratings.

She highlighted the Argentine government’s “continuous efforts” to strengthen the Central Bank’s reserves, which “will ultimately help support durable access to both domestic and international capital markets over time.”

On Argentina’s financial commitments to the IMF, the spokesperson said, “Argentina has made all of its payments to the Fund, and we are confident that they will continue to do so.”

Argentine country risk has been falling steadily in recent months.

In April, JPMorgan’s EMBI+ index was hovering around 520 basis points, but after upgrades to Argentina’s sovereign debt rating and the provisional resolution of the conflict in the Middle East, it dropped to 425 basis points — its lowest level in eight years. It currently sits at 435 points.

Milei’s government is betting big on reducing country risk. That would allow Argentina to return to international markets to refinance its foreign debt without leaning on multilateral lenders, paying off maturities in cash through reserve accumulation, or accepting excessively high interest rates.

Still — and despite the steady drop in country risk — Economy Minister Luis Caputo has repeatedly stressed that he would rather wait for financing costs to fall even further than current levels.

For comparison, Brazil’s country risk stands at 176 points, Chile’s at 82 and Uruguay’s — the lowest in Latin America — at 59.

So far, the Argentine government has preferred to place dollar bonds on the domestic debt market and to draw on funds from its latest agreements with the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).