Greek Jan-Aug central govt budget surplus beats target

[ATHENS] Greece's central government recorded a primary budget surplus of 3.8 billion euros in the first eight months of the year, beating its target as it cut spending, finance ministry data showed on Wednesday.

The central government surplus excludes the budgets of social security organisations and local administrations and is different from the figure monitored by Greece's EU/IMF lenders but indicates the state of the cash-strapped country's finances.

The government had targeted a primary budget surplus - which excludes debt-servicing costs - of 3.2 billion euros for the eight-month period, data showed.

Tax revenues came in at 28.7 billion euros, below a target of 32.8 billion euros. Public spending stood at 31.9 billion euros, 3.8 billion euros below target as the cash-strapped country cut back on expenditure to meet its obligations.

REUTERS