Almost since he took over as Argen-tina's president last January, Eduardo Duhalde has been predicting both a speedy agreement with the IMF, and an economic recovery. Now there are signs that at least the first of these may not be far off. The Fund and the government "have made important progress in the past two weeks in an atmosphere of greater understanding of the Argentine political and economic situation," says Roberto La-vagna, the economy minister, though he cautions that not everything is yet tied up. Nor have the gloomiest economic predictions come true. Mr Lavagna points to signs of growth: in the second quarter of this year GDP rose compared to the previous quarter, and industrial production has risen almost 7% since April, he says. Instead of hyperinflation, the rhythm of price increases has slowed (see chart). The peso, albeit helped by exchange controls, has held steady for three months at around 3.70 to the dollar.
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