Hungary Gen Gov't Deficit Reaches HUF 3,420 Bn

Hungary's cash flow-based general government deficit reached HUF 3,420.4 billion at the end of March, the Ministry of National Economy confirmed in a detailed release of data on Wednesday.

The central budget deficit reached HUF 3,242.6 billion and the social security funds were HUF 190.3 billion in the red, but separate state funds had a surplus of HUF 12.5 billion.

The deficit for the month of March alone reached HUF 1,313.6 billion, climbing from HUF 831.2 billion in the base period on government support for home purchases and renovation as well as road work, the ministry said. March was the first month interest payments for the Home Start subsidized lending scheme for first-time home buyers showed up in the budget, it added.

Central budget revenue from taxes and contributions rose 8.1pc in January-March from the same period a year earlier.

"The budget is stable and funding for programmes supporting Hungarian families and businesses is secure," the ministry said.

The detailed data show expenditures for home purchase support reached HUF 148.2 billion.

Net interest expenditures came to HUF 669.5 billion in January-March, down by HUF 786.1 billion from the base period.

Hungary's central budget debt rose by HUF 3,977.6 billion during the period, boosted by HUF 2,266.3 billion of net forint issues and HUF 1,683.4 billion of net FX issues.