Argentina secured a signficant debt rollover deal with the IMF last night, after a year of talks, to gain time to find a way out of its worst financial crisis.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said its board would review the accord - a short-term deal to roll over $6.6 billion in debt Argentina owes the fund through August, part of it for three to five years - in the next few days.
The lender typically only takes agreements to a vote at its executive board when it expects them to be approved - meaning it is seen as a done deal. But there will be no new cash.
With half the population living in poverty, Argentina - a model of market reforms in the 1990s turned debt nation - is desperate for fresh funds.
But it had played a high-stakes game with the IMF right down to the last - and even announced a surprise default with the Inter-American Development Bank on Wednesday in a bid to force the IMF's hand.
Argentina has already defaulted on a debt payment to the World Bank and $95 billion in privately held debt.