IMF Approves $683 Million Precautionary Disbursement to Romania

The International Monetary Fund approved a $683 million stand-by payment to Romania after the Balkan nation trimmed spending to keep its budget deficit below the target set under a precautionary loan.

The IMF board of directors agreed to make the funds available as the government met the first-quarter budget-deficit target and approved an increase in natural gas prices for factories as of July, the Washington-based fund said in an e-mailed statement today. Romania doesn’t plan to draw on the disbursement, instead treating it as “precautionary,” according to the statement.