Brasília – Federal, states and local governments in Brazil ran a BRL 3.401 billion (USD 822.2 million at current exchange rate) primary deficit in July, the Central Bank reported this Friday (31). The result is much narrower than the BRL 16.138 billion (USD 3,902 billion) deficit recorded in July 2017.
So-called Central Government (Social Security, Central Bank and National Treasury) saw a BRL 2.677 billion (USD 647.3 million) primary deficit, down from BRL 13.977 billion (USD 3.379 billion) in July 2017. The head of the Central Bank’s Statistics Department, Renato Baldini, imputed this to increased revenue, including oil royalties.
The first seven months of the year saw a BRL 17.825 billion (USD 4.310 billion) deficit, down from BRL 51.321 billion (USD 12.410 billion) a year ago. In the 12 months ended July, the deficit stood at BRL 77.086 billion (USD 18.641 billion), a sum equivalent to 1.14% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
