Credit: REUTERS/RODRIGO GARRIDOBUENOS AIRES, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Argentina could request more money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of the talks to renegotiate its 2018 standby agreement, an IMF official in Argentina said on Tuesday.
Argentina could agree to receive a fresh round of cash, according to Sergio Chodos, IMF executive director for the Southern Cone and Argentina's representative at the IMF, though he said it was unlikely to be an "exorbitant" amount.
"It is true that there could exist the need for a little more (money), that could come to pass. But I cannot imagine something that is very exorbitant compared to before. The intention is to go out, not to go back in," Chodos said in an interview with local radio station La Red.
Argentina is looking to update a $57 billion IMF agreement struck two years ago that failed to prevent a slide into recession and the country's ninth sovereign default. The South American country wants to defer some $45 billion in payments over the next few years, as it heads for a 12% economic contraction in 2020 and battles a currency crisis.
Chodos said finalizing a new agreement before July is "absolutely necessary."
A fresh round of IMF funds could help generate confidence in the market, according to Joaquin Candia, an analyst at Rava Bursátil.
"[The market] is waiting for signs of an economic, preferably orthodox, program to be able to face the strong crisis that the country is going through," Candia said.
(Reporting by Eliana Raszewski and Jorge Otaola; writing by Cassandra Garrison Editing by Marguerita Choy)
((Cassandra.Garrison@thomsonreuters.com; +54 11 5830 7443;))
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