Budget posts HUF 2,597.5 bn deficit in April, ministry confirms
Hungary's cash flow-based budget, excluding local councils, posted a deficit of 2,597.5 billion forints (EUR 6.7bn) at the end of April, the finance ministry confirmed in a detailed release of data on Thursday.
The central budget had a deficit of 2,590.6 billion forints and the social security funds were 103.3 billion forints in the red but separate state funds were 96.4 billion forints in the black.
Interest expenditures, which included large payments on retail government securities, came to 1,507.8 billion forints in January-April, up 632.4 billion from the same period a year earlier, the ministry said.
Spending on maintaining the regulated utilities price system for households reached 540.0 billion forints, the ministry said.
Spending on pensions reached 2,371.7 billion forints, while health-care expenditures came to 872.9 billion forints.
