BRUSSELS — Greece and its creditors moved closer to clinching a deal this weekend that would allow the cash-strapped country avoid a default and stay in the euro currency club, after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made more concessions, officials said.

Greece has agreed to cut pensions to a level very close to what creditors have demanded before they release new loans, officials said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.

The move comes only days after Greece proposed 8 billion euros in budget savings over two years. Germany and other creditors, particularly the International Monetary Fund, said those proposed measures were not good enough, arguing they rely too much on business taxes that could hurt growth.

Friday’s latest proposals brought Tsipras from the IMF and European institutions much closer together, enough for some to anticipate that an emergency meeting on Saturday of the eurozone’s 19 finance ministers could bring the decisive breakthrough.

“Tomorrow’s meeting is of decisive character,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after meeting Tsipras and French President Francois Hollande.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed. “There is a real chance to conclude an agreement,” he said, adding that Saturday was “a crucial day not only for Greece but for the euro area as a whole. I’m quite optimistic but not overly optimistic.”

Under the latest proposal, Athens said it will cut the contribution from the Greek state to pensions by between 0.25 percent and 0.5 percent of GDP this year and by 1 percent next year.

An official from one of the creditor institutions said that if you assess both sides “the difference now is very, very small.”

Megan Greene, chief economist at Manulife Asset Management, said that “The gap between Greece and its creditors looks much smaller now that Greece has caved on some of its proposed pension reforms.”

Markets rose on news of the concessions, with the Athens stock index up 2.5 percent and other major European indexes edging higher.

Greece could be in arrears of payment to the IMF as soon as Tuesday, when it has a debt repayment of 1.6 billion euros.

Negotiations have stumbled on what economic reforms Greece must make in return for the remaining 7.2 billion euros in its international bailout program.

Should it default on its debt, Greece could eventually have to leave Europe’s joint currency, the euro. That would likely plunge the country back into a deep and long recession and shake European and global markets.

European leaders have demanded finance ministers from eurozone countries reach an agreement Saturday on the reforms Greece must make to unfreeze its bailout loans.

Tsipras, elected in January on promises to repeal the deep austerity measures imposed on the country in return for two bailouts totaling 240 billion euros, has been adamant he will not agree to more recessionary measures.

With the European part of Greece’s bailout expiring on Tuesday, and with it the country’s potential access to the remaining funds, time is running out.