Argentina to make $1.9 bln payment to IMF, chipping away at debt

BUENOS AIRES, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Argentina will make a nearly $1.9 billion capital payment to the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday, according to two government sources and official news agency Telam, as the ailing South American grains producer continues to pay down the $45 billion it owes the fund.

The payment will be made with funds Argentina received from the IMF's Special Drawing Rights program, distributed in August to help bank members combat the economic aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

The country's official Telam news agency confirmed that SDR funds would be used to facilitate the payment of $1.885 billion.

Argentina owes the IMF $400 million in interest in November, and about $1.9 billion in principal in December, according to a schedule of its debt obligations.

The South American country is in the midst of negotiations with the IMF to restructure its debt, at a time when the Argentine economy has been hounded by persistently high inflation and soaring poverty, problems made worse by the still-lingering pandemic. (Reporting by Jorge Iorio; Writing by Walter Bianchi and Dave Sherwood; Editing by Mark Porter)