Economics
Argentina’s Stumble to Default Caps Brutal Four-Year Decline
- Grace period ending for $500 million of overdue bond payments
- Government, creditors in talks on $65 billion restructuring
A customer wearing a protective mask waits behind a social distancing marker outside a store in the Belgrano neighborhood of Buenos Aires on May 14.
Photographer: Sarah Pabst/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Argentina is on the verge of officially being declared in default just four years after a wave of optimism lured billions of dollars in investment.
The country’s ambassador to the U.S. said it wouldn’t make $500 million of overdue payments whose grace period expired today until it can reach a restructuring deal with creditors, likely marking Argentina’s ninth default on international debt in its 200-year history. Government officials had already said they didn’t have the money to pay and have been in talks with investors holding $65 billion of overseas obligations.