NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Argentina’s insistence on its deficit spending plan is putting it on a fresh collision course with the International Monetary Fund, though analysts predict the country will be forced to change tack and clinch a deal to avoid a bigger crisis.

The Argentine government and the IMF have been locked in talks for more than a year. Argentina is trying to avoid a default with the IMF as $19 billion in payments loom this year, part of a $45 billion debt that needs to be refinanced to help restore the South American nation’s credibility with markets.

Finance minister Martin Guzman last week said the sharpest sticking point in negotiations with the Fund was how and at what speed Argentina should reduce its fiscal deficit. He presented an economic plan that involves five more years of running deficits and printing money to patch the holes.

Guzman said the Fund’s proposal would “halt the economic recovery that Argentina is having,” while his plan “would give continuity to this strong recovery.”

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