BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s central government recorded an unexpected budget deficit in March, Treasury data showed on Monday, with increased expenses overshadowing the rise in revenues.
The primary deficit amounted to 1.5 billion reais ($293.8 million), contrary to the 1.5 billion surplus forecast by economists polled by Reuters.
Net revenue rose 8.3% in real terms from the previous year, reaching 163.9 billion reais, buoyed by a record tax collection for the period.
Total expenditure saw a smaller increase of 4.3%, albeit from a larger base, hitting 165.4 billion reais.
In the first quarter, the primary surplus stood at 19.4 billion reais, marking a 39.8% drop compared with the same period last year.
The government aims to eliminate the primary deficit this year, with a margin of 0.25 percentage point of the gross domestic product (GDP) either up or down, while the 12-month result reflects a deficit equivalent to 2.2% of GDP.
($1 = 5.1057 reais)
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; editing by Gabriel Araujo and Jonathan Oatis)
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