Spain negotiates new deadline for deficit target: reports

Spain is negotiating a new deadline for the country's deficit target, local media reported on Tuesday, citing sources from the Spanish government.

Spain's acting Minister Luis de Guindos talked to European Union's Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) summit in Washington about giving Spain more time to balance its accounts.

Meanwhile, de Guindos told reporters on Tuesday that he had talked about the deficit targets with Moscovici and Vladis Dombrovskis, Vice-President for the Euro, but warned that it has only been spoken, but not officially agreed.

The Spanish government has revised up its public deficit forecasts to 3.6 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) for this year and 2.9 percent for 2017, after missing 2015 deficit target that stood at 5 percent as opposed to the 4.2 percent they had agreed on with the European authorities.

De Guindos said that both Moscovici and Dombrovskis think the new forecasts are "realistic."

The Spanish government has recently revised down its economic growth predictions to 2.7 percent for 2016 as opposed to the previously forecasted 3 percent and 2.4 percent for 2017 as opposed to the previously forecasted 2.9 percent. Endit