US Treasury's Bessent insists that Argentina financial aid is not a bailout

WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary on Thursday denied that the Trump administration's financial assistance for Argentina is a bailout, saying that no money was being transferred to Buenos Aires from the Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund.

"It's not a bailout at all," Scott Bessent told Fox News Channel after announcing that the U.S. had purchased Argentine pesos in the open market and finalized a framework deal for a $20 billion currency swap line with Latin America's third-largest economy.

"The ESF has never lost money, it's not going to lose money here," Bessent said, adding that Argentina's peso "is undervalued."