Greek budget showed primary surplus of 1.156 bln euros in Jan-April

Greek central government cash balance recorded a primary surplus of 1.156 billion euros in the January-April period this year, from primary surplus of 1.586 billion in the corresponding period in 2018, the Bank of Greece said in a report released on Friday.

The central bank, in a report on the central government cash balance, said that budget spending grew to 16.565 billion euros in the four-month period from 15.380 billion last year, while regular budget revenue edged up to 14.626 billion euros from 14.530 billion in 2018.

The cash balance showed a deficit of 1.158 billion euros in the January-April period, from a shortfall of 599 million in the same period last year. In the four-month period, ordinary state budget recorded a deficit of 2.0 billion euros from a surplus of 5.2 billion euros in 2018.