Federal government accounts register a deficit of R$ 35.9 billion in July

The federal government’s accounts registered a deficit of R$ 35.9 billion in July. The data were disclosed this Wednesday (30) by the National Treasury Secretariat. This is the second worst result for the month of July in the historical series, which began in 1997. In July 2022, the accounts of the so-called central government, which includes the National Treasury, Social Security and the Central Bank, recorded a surplus of BRL 18.9 billion.

Last month’s result only lost to the month since July 2020, when the primary deficit of BRL 87.8 billion due to extra spending with the Covid-19 pandemic, reported the Brazil Agency. The result was worse than expected by financial institutions. According to the Prisma Fiscal survey, released every month by the Ministry of Finance, analysts expected a negative result of R$ 6 billion in July.

In the last month, net revenues fell 1.5% in nominal terms. Discounting inflation by the Extended National Consumer Price Index (IPCA), the fall reaches 5.3%. In the same period, total expenses rose 36.5% in nominal terms and 31.3% after discounting inflation.

In 2023, the government accumulates a primary deficit of BRL 78.2 billion. The primary result represents the difference between revenues and expenditures, excluding interest payments on the public debt. This year’s Budget Guidelines Law (LDO) establishes a primary deficit target of R$ 231.5 billion for the central government.