By Jamie McGeever
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s government posted a primary budget surplus in January of 43.2 billion reais ($7.8 billion), Treasury figures showed on Thursday, down from the same month last year but still the second highest ever for that particular month.
January’s surplus for the central government excluding interest payments was also bigger than the 40.6 billion reais median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
January is traditionally a month of surplus, due to strong personal income tax and corporate social contributions. Last month’s was second only to the 44.1 billion reais surplus from January last year.
In real terms, January’s surplus was down 6.3% from the same month last year.
Net revenue was 155.3 billion reais in January, up 2.4% in nominal terms from a year earlier, but down 2.1% in real terms, Treasury said.
Total spending in the month was 112.1 billion reais, up 4.2% in nominal terms but down 0.4% in real terms form January last year, Treasury said.
Over the 12 months to January, Brazil’s government registered a primary deficit of 776.4 billion reais, worth 10.0% of gross domestic product, Treasury said.
Treasury noted, however, that if the 542.7 billion reais of expenditure tackling the COVID-19 crisis in the 12 months through January is excluded, non-discretionary spending is on a “stable trajectory”.
($1 = 5.5050 reais)
(Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Aurora Ellis)
