Hungary backtracks on talk about default

BUDAPEST: Hungarian State Secretary Mihaly Varga says recent comments by government officials talking about Hungary being close to defaulting on its debts are "exaggerated ... and unfortunate."

Varga says in comments Saturday that the new, center-right government of the Fidesz party wants to stick to the 2010 budget deficit of 3.8 percent of GDP set by the previous administration, but ``immediate and urgent'' steps are needed to achieve it.

Varga, head of a fact-finding panel tasked with reporting on the state of the economy, said several budget items do not reflect reality, as tax revenues are often overestimated while expenditures are underestimated.

Investors' worries about Hungary have sent markets reeling and have dragged the euro to four-year lows.