Argentina's Massa Orders Immediate Halt to Transfers For Spending -document

Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Massa instructed finance officials to halt all new temporary cash transfers from the treasury to pay for government spending effective Thursday, according to an official document seen by Reuters.

The instructions in a memo dated Thursday confirm the austerity measure outlined by Massa in a speech he gave on Wednesday, his first day as minister, in which he sought to reassert the government's determination to tackle overspending and runaway inflation in particular.

"Beginning immediately and until new instructions are provided, we are instructing that (finance officials) should abstain from asking for temporary transfers from the national treasury for financing," according to the memo addressed to the finance secretary and signed by Massa.

The new economy minister pledged on Wednesday to prioritize cost-cutting measures in a push to narrow a widening budget deficit, as well as boost dwindling foreign reserves, as the country faces an economic crisis fueled by a huge debt load and a weak peso currency.