Ministry of Finance data showed that the state budget deficit during the first seven months (7M) of the current fiscal year (FY), increased by 11.3% year-over-year (y-o-y).
“The budget deficit reached EGP 218.1bn, representing 5.1% of GDP, during the aforementioned period that ended in January 2018, compared to a deficit of EGP 195.8 bn, representing 5.6% of GDP, in the same period of the last FY,” according to the ministry’s monthly report, published on Monday.
According to the report, the value of the total revenues for the first seven months of the current FY amounted to EGP 353.7bn, representing 8.3% of GDP, while the expenditures amounted to EGP 570bn, representing 13.3% of GDP.
Previously, the Ministry of Finance announced its target total deficit in the draft state budget for the next FY 2018/2019 at about EGP 438.6bn, equivalent to 8.4% of GDP, which means an increase of EGP 7.5bn over the expected deficit in the financial results of the current FY 2017/2018, which is about EGP 430.8bn.
Previously, Minister of Finance Amr El-Garhy said that the total budget deficit during the first half (H1) of the current FY fell from 6.2% to 5.1%
He added that he expected the deficit to rise to 10.1-10.2% by the end of this year.
Furthermore, the total budget deficit for FY 2016/2017 was estimated at EGP 319.46bn, versus EGP 339.5bn in the prior FY.
The deputy minister of finance for treasury affairs, Mohamed Moait, said that the budget deficit this FY is expected to increase over the target of 9.8%, due to recent economic measures.
