The shortfall between the Government’s recurrent revenue and total expenditure in the first nine months amounted to €271.4 million, compared to €282.2 million in the same period last year.

The National Statistics Office said in a statement that the the decrease in the government deficit of €10.8 million was the result of higher recurrent revenue by €134.8 million, which outweighed the increase in total expenditure of €124 million.

During January-September, recurrent revenue stood at €2,056.2 million, up by seven per cent over last year.

Total expenditure was recorded at €2,327.6 million, up by 5.6 per cent when compared to the same period in 2012.

During the period under review, the interest component of the public debt servicing costs was recorded at €165.5 million, a decline of €2.6 million.

At the end of September, central Government debt stood at €5,155.5 million, up by €472.3 million over the same period last year. This was the result of higher long-term and short-term borrowing, which added €434.2 million and €102.3 million, respectively.

Foreign borrowing went down by €12 million. As a result of consolidation, higher holdings by government funds in MGSs brought about a decline in debt of €57.7 million.