2018’s deficit totals €2BN, worst than estimated in October
In October, the government had updated the estimates for 2018's deficit targets, expecting it to reach €1,304 BN. However, the public deficit had reached €2,083 BN at the end of the year.
The fiscal deficit for the year 2018 reached €2,083 BN, according to the information released this Friday by the Finance Ministry. This was worst than estimated by the government in October, but it was still a better performance than what was observed in 2017, with a €475M difference between both years.
By the time the state budget was presented, the government had updated its deficit estimates, expecting it to reach €1,304 BN by the end of 2018, or 0.6% of GDP.
In November 2018, the country’s deficit presented very negative results, standing at €624M that month, mostly due to the payment of the Christmas subsidies to public employees.
The value published today, however, reflects the difference between total revenue and expenditure for the full year. “In 2018, budget implementation reached the negative value of -€2,083 BN, which still represents a year-on-year improvement, motivated by the 5.2% increase in revenue, superior to the increase in expenditure (4.5%)”, the ministry noted in the communiqué published this Friday.
