Uruguay announced on Thursday it will repay this year's 630 million U.S. dollars of debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ahead of schedule, thanks to the country's improving economy.

Uruguay will save 8.4 million dollars in interest through the early payments, Economy Minister Danilo Astori told a press conference in the Suarez presidential palace on Thursday.

Astori added that Uruguay still owes the IMF some 1.6 billion dollars, out of a total public debt of 20 billion dollars.

Uruguay also announced in February it would repay 436 million dollars of loans from the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in advance.

Uruguay is the third Latin American country that has announced early repayments of foreign loans, following Brazil and Argentina.

Source: Xinhua