Budget posts HUF 2,321 billion deficit in March, ministry confirms

The central budget had a deficit of 2,338.3 billion forints and the social security funds were 61.7 billion forints in the red but separate state funds were 78.6 billion forints in the black.

Interest expenditures, which included large payments on retail government securities, came to 1,241.3 billion forints in January-March, up 604.0 billion from the same period a year earlier, the ministry said.

Spending on pensions reached 1,895.7 billion forints, while health-care expenditures came to 588.9 billion forints.

Spending on maintaining the regulated utilities price system for households reached 461.3 billion forints, the ministry said.

It underlined the government’s commitment to reducing the deficit and the public debt, noting that the deficit will be cut to below 3 percent of GDP over the coming years. The government targets a deficit of 4.5 percent in 2024, 3.7 percent in 2025 and 2.9 percent in 2026, the ministry said.