IMF says Mexico interested in successor for expiring flexible credit line

• The IMF in 2017 approved an $86 billion flexible credit line (FCL) for Mexico but trimmed the amount to $74 billion in 2018.
• The Mexican authorities have indeed expressed interest in a successor arrangement prior to the expiration of this FCL at the end of November.

WASHINGTON: Mexican authorities have expressed interest in arranging continued access to a flexible credit line with the International Monetary Fund before the current mechanism expires at the end of November, an IMF spokesman said on Thursday.

The IMF in 2017 approved an $86 billion flexible credit line (FCL) for Mexico but trimmed the amount to $74 billion in 2018. That credit line is due to expire at the end of November.

IMF spokesman Gerry Rice gave no details on the expected scope of any new credit line, but confirmed Mexico's interest in negotiating a new arrangement.

"The Mexican authorities have indeed expressed interest in a successor arrangement prior to the expiration of this FCL at the end of November," Rice told reporters at a regular IMF briefing.

The IMF in July slashed its economic growth expectation for Latin America in 2019 by more than half compared with estimates from just three months ago, citing its downgrades to growth in both Brazil and Mexico, the region's largest economies.

At the time, it said Latin America's economic output was expected to grow 0.6% this year, down from expected 1.4% growth in the IMF's outlook from April.

Mexico's expansion was seen at 0.9%, compared with an outlook for 1.6% growth three months earlier.

The fund will release its latest economic forecasts in mid- October, amid increasing signs that global growth has slowed further due to trade tensions and other factors.