BUENOS AIRES Argentina has signed a deal to renew and possibly expand its currency swap line with China, a boost to the indebted nation's dwindling foreign currency reserves.
The bank said the two countries had agreed to renew the 130 billion yuan $18.36 billion swap line for three more years, and could double the freely accessible part of the exchange, from 35 billion yuan now to 70 billion yuan, some $10 billion.
The procedure has begun to increase the usable value by another 35 billion yuan, according to Argentina's central bank.
This increase will come into effect once the first tranche of the extension used for commercial exchange between the two countries is exhausted and with the agreement of the parties. The country's foreign currency reserves have plummeted sharply this year because of a historic drought that slashed grain exports, which is the main source of dollar income, and the peso currency has weakened under the weight of 109 percent annual inflation.