Government agrees wIth IMF on budgetary steps

Bloomberg

Turkey expects to conclude the agreement next month after the IMF softened its demands on budget savings, Şimşek said Turkey in a speech to businessmen in the southern city of Antalya, according to his press spokeswoman Sibel Tokgöz.

"We are close to a deal," he said. "We have pretty much agreed with the IMF on the size of the budget measures we will take."

An IMF agreement, the fourth time the republic has turned to the lender for support in a decade, would help Turkey’s economy withstand the global financial crisis, which has prompted investors to sell emerging market assets. Turkey may follow Iceland, Ukraine and Hungary in winning IMF aid.

An IMF negotiating team is due to arrive in Turkey in early January for meetings with the government.