The government’s deficit for January to June amounted to €265.2 million, 10 per cent more than in the same period last year, the National Statistics Office said.

It said recurrent revenue registered an increase of €106.8 million while expenditure went up by €130.9 million when compared to the corresponding period last year, widening the shortfall between recurrent revenue and total expenditure by €24 million.

Recurrent revenue was recorded at €1,414.3 million, up by 8.2 per cent over last year.

The interest component of the public debt servicing costs for the period under review amounted to €111.2 million, at the same level recorded last year.

Expenditure on Government’s capital projects amounted to €191.5 million.

At the end of June, central government debt stood at €5,484.2 million, up by €438.9 million over the corresponding period last year. This was the result of higher long- and short-term borrowing, which added €379.8 million and €71.3 million respectively.

On the other hand, foreign borrowing went down by €10.6 million. As a result of consolidation, higher holdings by government funds in MGSs brought about a decrease in debt of €6.3 million.