Washington - Hungary has received a commitment from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide as much as 12.5 billion euros (15.7 billion dollars) in loans to the Eastern European country as it seeks to weather the global financial crisis.

The IMF and Hungary made the agreement Tuesday after Hungarian stocks and the forint have plunged, its economy slows and the government runs a growing budget deficit.

Kiev/Budapest/Washington - Ukrainians expressed optimism, but still faced a shaky economy after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it will provide financial support to the hard-pressed country.

The IMF on Sunday simultaneously announced a 16.5-billion-dollar credit for Ukraine. Additionally, it said it plans to give Hungary, which is also facing economic problems, a credit of an as-yet- undetermined size.

Budapest- Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany on Friday canceled a trip to two Gulf kingdoms to focus on Hungary's financial crisis and economic slowdown.

Gyurcsany and a Hungarian business delegation had planned to travel to Oman and Qatar for two days starting Tuesday. No new dates were set, the prime minister's office said.

Budapest - Hungary's national bank sharply raised interest rates Wednesday in an emergency bid to defend the country's currency, which has slumped as a result of the global financial crisis.

The bank's policy-making council boosted the key rate to 11.5 per cent from 8.5 per cent at an unscheduled meeting in Budapest, a central bank statement said.

The forint has plunged in recent days as concern about the liquidity of Hungarian banks soured investors on the Central European nation's already ailing economy.