Greece to overshoot primary surplus targets

Greece expects to overshoot its budget surplus targets for a third consecutive year in 2018, a senior government official said on Monday, an outcome that could help ease the austerity burden imposed on a recession-weary population.

In a final budget draft due to be submitted to Parliament on Tuesday, Greek authorities will outline projections of a primary surplus - the fiscal surplus excluding debt repayments - of between 2.4 and 2.5 percent this year, and of more than 3.7 percent next year, the official told Reuters.

The figures mark an upward revision. A draft budget submitted on October 2 had put the surplus at 2.2 percent for 2017 and 3.57 for 2018. A strong fiscal surplus could allow the government - facing public fatigue with pension cuts and tax hikes - to redirect funds to vulnerable sections of the population hit hardest.

"It makes more room for...