IMF approves $1.81 bln in funding for Portugal

The international Monetary Fund has approved an amount of 1.48 billion euros ($1.82 billion) disbursement to Portugal that has been recently suffering fiscal deficit. The IMF approved the disbursement after it completed the fourth review of Portugal’s performance under an economic program supported by a 3-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. It said Lisbon has achieved progress pertaining to economic reform yet still needs to enhance labor and product market reform. "Fiscal consolidation is on track. The end-2012 fiscal target remains within reach, although risks to its attainment have increased on account of weaker revenue performance," IMF said in a statement on Monday. "The EFF arrangement, which was approved on May 20, 2011 as a part of a cooperative package of financing with the European Union amounting to Euro 78 billion over three years. It entails exceptional access to IMF resources, amounting to 2,306 percent of Portugal’s IMF quota." the statement added.