MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil overshoots primary surplus target

Brazil managed in 2003 to overshoot the primary budget surplus agreed with the IMF, according to a release from the Brazilian Central Bank. The primary budget surplus last year was established in 4,25% of GDP, but actually reached 4,32%.

This means that the original saving of 65,000 million Reales (approx. 22,413 billion US dollars) finally reached 66,173 million Reales (approx. 22,818 billion US dollars).

The public sector consolidated surplus that includes federal, state, municipal and government companies managed an additional 405 million US dollars over the original target.

In 2002 the primary budget surplus of the consolidated public sector was 52,390 million Reales (14,799 billion US dollars) equivalent to 3,89% of GDP.

The Central Bank also revealed that the overall country's expenditure, including interests, was 145,210 million Reales (over 50 billion US dollars) equivalent to 9,49% of GDP.

Given the fact that the primary surplus was insufficient even to cover public debt interest costs, the surplus was actually a nominal deficit of 79,000 million Reales (27,254 billion US dollars) equivalent to 5,16% of GDP.

The Central Bank also indicates that at the end of the first year of President Lula da Silva's administration the net debt of Brazil which in 2002 was equivalent to 55,5% of GDP in 2003 it reached 58,3%.

The debt of the Brazilian public sector in 2003 reached 913,145 million Reales (almost 315 billion US dollars), while a year ago, December 2002, it stood at 881,108 million Reales, (249 billion US dollars).