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Greeks withdraw cash ahead of cliffhanger vote
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A man makes a transaction at an ATM machine outside a bank branch in central Athens May 24, 2012.(Agencies) |
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Greeks pulled their cash out of the banks and stocked up with food ahead of a cliffhanger election on Sunday that many citizens fear will result in the country being forced out of the euro. Bankers said up to 800 million euros were leaving major banks daily and retailers said some of the money was being used to buy pasta and canned goods in case of shortages, as fears of returning to the drachma were fanned by rumors that a radical leftist leader may win the election. The last published opinion polls showed the conservative New Democracy party, which backs the 130-billion-euro bailout that is keeping Greece afloat, running neck-and-neck with the leftist SYRIZA party, which wants to cancel the rescue deal. The European Union and International Monetary Fund have warned that Greece, which has only enough cash to last for a few weeks, must stick to the conditions of the bailout deal or risk seeing funds cut off. Fears that Greece will collapse financially and leave the euro have slowly drained Greek banks over the last two years. Central bank figures show that deposits shrank by about 17 percent, or 35.4 billion euros in 2011 and stood at 165.9 billion euros at end-April. Bankers said the pace was picking up ahead of the vote, with combined daily deposit outflows from the major banks at 500-800 million euros over the past few days, and 10-30 million euros at smaller banks. "This includes cash withdrawals, wire transfers and investments into money market funds, German Bunds, US Treasuries and EIB bonds," said one banker, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Retailers said consumers were stocking up on non-perishable food while almost all other goods were seeing a huge drop in sales as cash-strapped Greeks have no money to spare in the country's fifth year of recession. "People are terrified by the prospect of returning to the drachma and some believe it's good to fill their cupboard with food products," said Vassilis Korkidis, head of the ESEE retail federation. "It's over the top, we must not panic. Filling the cupboard with food doesn't mean we will escape the crisis," he said. Supermarkets said they did not see a rise in profits as people spend less money. But sales of staples like pasta have gone up. (Read by Brian Salter. Brian Salter is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
因為擔心本周日緊張的大選后希臘將退出歐元區，希臘民眾紛紛奔赴銀行取現，并大量囤積食物。 希臘主要銀行每天有高達8億歐元資金流出。來自零售商的消息稱，因為擔心供應短缺，很多人用取出的錢購買面條和罐裝食物。有傳言稱激進的左翼領導人將在大選中獲勝，激起人們對重返舊幣德拉克馬時代的擔心。 最新公布的民調結果顯示，保守的新民主黨與左派政黨激進左翼聯盟黨支持率不相上下。新民主黨支持正維持著希臘經濟的1300億歐元援助計劃，而激進左翼聯盟黨想要取消援助計劃。 歐盟和國際貨幣基金組織已警告希臘，必須堅持援助協議，否則資金將面臨中斷風險。希臘的現金僅夠維持幾周。 對希臘經濟崩潰以及退出歐元區的恐慌已使希臘的銀行在過去兩年內慢慢被“取空”。希臘央行的數據顯示，2011年銀行存款大約削減了17%，合354億歐元，而截至今年4月底這一數字已達到1659億歐元。 銀行方面稱，如今臨近大選，存款流失的速度又在上升。過去一段時間，希臘主要銀行每天流出的存款總量多達5億至8億歐元，而小型銀行每天流出的存款總量達1000萬至3000萬歐元。 一位沒有透露姓名的銀行業者說：“這包括取現、電匯、購買貨幣市場基金，以及購買德國、美國和歐洲投資銀行的債券。” 零售商稱，很多人在儲存不易腐壞的食品，而幾乎所有其它類食品的銷量都出現大幅下跌，因為希臘的經濟衰退已經歷時五年，人們已經沒有閑錢花了。 希臘零售商組織ESEE的負責人瓦斯里斯-柯克蒂斯說：“人們都很害怕回到舊貨幣時代，不少人都想往自家的櫥柜里多裝些食物。” 他說：“這太夸張了，我們不能恐慌。即便你把你的櫥柜全填滿，也不意味著你能躲過危機。” 超市方面表示，人們在節省開銷，利潤并未上升，但面條等日常必需品的銷量已經顯著上升。 相關閱讀 （中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯：陳丹妮） |
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Vocabulary: cliffhanger: 扣人心弦，緊張懸念 drachma: 德拉克馬，希臘舊貨幣 over the top: 過分了，夸大了 |
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