IMF says next Greek payment to fund due May 6
Greece’s next payment to the International Monetary Fund, totaling some 200 million euros in interest payments, is due May 6 because of the May Day holiday in Greece, an IMF spokesman said on Thursday.
He said the Fund did not have a “detailed” assessment of Greece’s liquidity situation and hopes to get more information in the course of talks with Athens and its IMF and European creditors, which began in Brussels on Thursday.
Financial markets have doubted whether Greece has the money to pay back the IMF over the next month, while still paying wages and pensions.
Greece’s following payment to the IMF, of 750 million euros, is due May 12, and Greece has suggested it will struggle to make the installment.
Greece’s government on Thursday signaled the biggest concessions so far as crunch talks with lenders on a cash-for-reforms package started in earnest. Greek officials face growing pressure at home and abroad to reach an agreement with European and IMF lenders to avert a national bankruptcy.
A new poll showed over three-quarters of Greeks feel Athens must strike a deal at any cost to stay in the eurozone.
When asked about the risk of Greece leaving the currency bloc, the IMF said it did not believe this would happen, although it always considers different scenarios.
“The Greek government has been clear that it wants to stay in the eurozone, and will take the necessary actions to prevent exit,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters.
[Reuters]
