ATHENS: Greece received on Tuesday a first payout of 7.5 billion euros ($9.9 billion) under its second international bailout, a finance ministry official said.

Greece received 5.9 billion euros from the eurozone and 1.6 billion euros from the International Monetary Fund, said the official.

Following a debt swap with private creditors earlier this month that wiped some 100 billion euros off of Greece's debt, the eurozone approved a new rescue programme worth up to 130 billion euros.

The IMF followed up with a 28 billion euro package.

The funds are being disbursed in instalments provided Greece meets agreed targets to cut its spending excesses and reform its economy.

Greece's parliament on Tuesday opened a session that was to end with a late night ratification of the loan deal between Athens and the eurozone.

The coalition government of caretaker Prime Minister Lucas Papademos controls a large majority in parliament and passage of the law is widely considered a formality.

The government has said that the public deficit for 2011, a key sign of the country's economic recovery closely monitored by its creditors, is expected to close at 9.2 per cent of output.

The figure was included in a presentation by deputy finance minister Philippos Sachinidis to economists on Monday.

In January, the then development minister had put the 2011 deficit at 9.6 per cent thanks to a successful absorption of European Union support funds.

Deficit reduction is a key requirement for the continued release of EU and IMF loans that are keeping the Greek economy on its feet.

Forty-nine-year-old Sachinidis is seen as a possible replacement for Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos who stepped down this week to lead the socialist Pasok party to early elections expected by early May.

• Gold and silver prices poised for further gains amid mounting economic risks - Sprott's McIntyre   (2025-07-03 06:43:22)
• Are gold, silver, and platinum effective safe haven investments in 2025? – Saxo Bank   (2025-07-02 07:26:16)
• Wall Street stays cautious on gold, Main Street grows more optimistic with Fed-moving inflation data mid-week   (2025-06-07 16:46:33)
• Wall Street and Main Street adopt a cautious posture on gold prices next week with payrolls data on deck   (2025-05-31 06:44:29)
• Gold isn’t out of the woods just yet, but its bullish potential remains   (2025-05-16 06:33:05)
• Gold gains, the dollar weakens as inflation cools to a four-year low   (2025-05-14 07:06:00)
• Wall Street balanced between bulls, bears, and the fence, Main Street maintains bullish bias with tariffs and inflation in focu   (2025-05-10 09:59:17)
• The price gap between oil and gold points to a recession and $4,000 gold - Bloomberg’s Mike McGlone   (2025-05-07 08:35:35)
• Gold surges ahead of Fed meeting, silver and platinum prices struggle to regain key support - FX Empire’s Zernov   (2025-05-06 08:26:08)
• Gold prices hold above $3,300 amid economic concerns: Where are prices headed?   (2025-04-30 08:37:50)