Budget deficit rises to 1.81% of GDP, after four months this year

The consolidated general budget deficit has gone up to 1.81% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), after four months in this year, with a significant growth from the first three months, when the budgetary execution ended with a deficit of 1.28% of the GDP. According to the data sent on Thursday by the Ministry of Public Finance, the consolidated general budget deficit during the first four months of the year 2021 ended with a deficit of 20.7 billion RON (1.81% of the GDP), dropping from the deficit of 26.82 billion RON (2.54% of the GDP), registered in the same period of the year 2020. After the first trimester of 2021, the budget deficit was 14.63 billion RON (1.28% of the GDP). "There are sums worth 8.08 billion RON (0.71% of the GDP) which were left in the economic environment through investments and exceptional expenses allocated for combating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, during the period of January - April 2021, investment expenses were 3.17 billion RON higher from the same period of the previous year and exceptional payments generated by the COVID-19 pandemic were at 4.91 billion RON," the quoted source specifies. The budget deficit target for this year is 7.16% of the GDP, in cash.AGERPRES(RO - author: Andreea Marinescu, editor: Mariana Nica; EN - author: Catalin Cristian Trandafir, editor: Maria Voican)