BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina does not have a meeting scheduled for Monday with a court-appointed mediator in New York in its debt dispute with creditors but talks continue, a government source said on Sunday, as the country looks to avoid a possible debt default next Thursday.
Argentina, Latin America's third-largest economy, has for years fought the "holdout" hedge funds which snapped up its junk bonds after its $100 billion default in 2002 and then refused the restructuring terms, suing for repayment in full.
"There is no meeting scheduled for Monday. Talks are continuing," the government source told Reuters.
Argentina's delegation headed home to seek instruction from the government after it failed to reach a breakthrough on Friday with the U.S. court-appointed mediator Daniel Pollack, in talks that lasted just an hour.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa ordered Argentina and holdout creditors who have rejected its debt restructurings to meet continuously with Pollack to try to reach a deal and avoid the country's second default in 12 years.
Following legal setbacks for Argentina in U.S. courts, the South American country is running out of time to comply with a 2012 ruling by Griesa to pay $1.33 billion plus interest to the funds.
(Reporting by Alejandro Lifschitz; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Angus MacSwan and David Evans)