(Bloomberg) -- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged to provide “all options for stabilization” to Argentine President Javier Milei as the South American country faces a market selloff in recent weeks.

Bessent and President Donald Trump will speak with Milei in New York Tuesday and “more details will be available shortly after this meeting,” Bessent said Monday in a thread on X. Options include, but aren’t limited to, currency swap lines, direct currency repurchases and US dollar-denominated debt from the Treasury’s exchange stabilization fund.

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Argentina’s dollar bonds touched session highs after the announcement, with dollar notes maturing in 2035 jumping almost seven cents on the dollar to trade above 54 cents, according to indicative pricing data compiled by Bloomberg.

US support would come on top of Argentina’s $20 billion program with the International Monetary Fund, which Milei finalized in April and Bessent called a “fulcrum day” during a rare visit by a US Treasury Secretary to the crisis-prone nation.

At the time, Bessent downplayed the chances that Milei would need to spend money to defend the peso. “The good thing about having the money is the bigger your war chest, the more unlikely that you’re going to have to intervene,” Bessent said in an interview in Buenos Aires. “It’s going to be a smoothing function. I’m going to be watching it closely.”

Milei’s central bank sold $1.1 billion over three days last week to prop up the peso in Argentina’s currency market as pressure boiled over and sovereign bonds posted the worst losses in emerging markets. Investors grew concerned in recent weeks after a bribery scandal hit Milei’s sister and top adviser, Karina, and then his government unexpectedly lost a key provincial vote by a landslide.

In addition to burning through precious hard currency reserves to defend the peso, Milei’s government announced a temporary halt on crop tariff exports on Monday in a bid to bring in more dollars.

“Although there is still uncertainty regarding the US, something will come up,” said Matias Montes, head of strategy at EMFI Securities. “And the crop tariffs measure means less bleeding from the central bank in terms of international reserves.”

Argentina’s midterm elections on Oct. 26 will be Milei’s biggest electoral test since taking office in 2023 and polls show his disapproval rating rising, while his party’s lead ahead of the Peronist opposition party has been cut in half. Beyond the bribery allegations and provincial election wipeout, Milei’s rivals in Congress have overturned some of his vetoes on popular spending items, such as education and healthcare, raising investor concerns about his ability to govern.

The economic recovery on Milei’s watch has faltered as output slightly contracted in the second quarter and analysts forecast another decline between July and September. Unemployment remains elevated compared to pre-Milei levels and more employers in key sectors like manufacturing and construction intend to lay off workers in the coming months than those who plan to hire, according to government surveys.

--With assistance from Nicolle Yapur.

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