dismantled key parts of its years-long currency controls and loosened its grip on the peso. The IMF will disburse $12 billion by next Tuesday, while another $2 billion will become available by June. The deal is expected to help Argentina "catalyze additional official multilateral and bilateral support, and a timely re-access to international capital markets," the IMF said.

"Key pillars of the program include maintaining a strong fiscal anchor, transitioning towards a more robust monetary and FX regime, with greater exchange rate flexibility," it added in a statement. Earlier, the South American nation's central bank announced it would undo a fixed currency peg from Monday, letting the peso freely fluctuate within a moving band between 1,000 and 1,400 pesos per dollar, versus 1,074 at the close on Friday. Argentina will eliminate major parts of the so-called "cepo" capital controls that have restricted access to foreign currency, the central bank said in a statement. (Reuters)