Brasília – Brazilian financial institutions polled by the Ministry of Finance expect the National Treasury, Social Security and Central Bank, collectively known as the Central Government, to run a BRL 70.751 billion deficit (USD 17.670 bn at current exchange rates) this year, a wider number than January’s BRL 68.23 billion forecast (USD 17 billion).
The projection is part of the third edition of poll Prisma Fiscal, conducted by the Economic Policy Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance, with 30 financial institutions as respondents. The results were released this Friday (19) in Brasília.
The deficit expected in 2017 has widened from BRL 30.87 billion (USD 7.71 vn) to BRL 42 billion (USD 10.4 billion). The result is a far cry from this year’s target of a primary surplus worth 0.4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), i.e. higher revenue exceeding spending (interest-related expenses not included) of 0.4%, or BRL 24 billion (USD 5.99 billion).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
