Greece has enough cash reserves to meet the government’s operating needs until at least early August and possibly longer, two government officials said Tuesday, despite earlier warnings Athens could run out of money as early as this month that had once again stoked fears of a payments crisis which could risk endangering Greece’s standing in the euro zone.
According to people familiar with the matter, further spending restraint, a small EUR1 billion cash injection from the country’s international creditors and–most important–indications that euro-zone partners would cover an upcoming EUR3.1 billion bond redemption, have given Greece’s debt-laden government just a little bit of breathing space as it holds talks with those creditors on further austerity measures it must take to secure the next tranche of aid from a promised EUR173 billion bailout.
An ongoing T-bill auction program–on Tuesday Greece raised EUR1.65 billion from the sale of 26-week T-bills–as well as money that could be tapped from the country’s bank recapitalization fund, suggest the government will have enough funds to cover its outlays until September, when it hopes to receive a EUR31 billion payout from the creditors.
“It is difficult to put a time period on it, but for the next month there is not an issue [of a cash shortage],” a senior government official told Dow Jones Newswires. “Beyond this, there are ways of covering the country’s internal funding needs, such as the issuing of treasury bills.”
Just a few weeks ago, former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said Greece’s government could face a cash squeeze as early as mid-June and would run out of money altogether by the end of July at the latest.
(source: Dow Jones)
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
