Romania ran a consolidated budget deficit of 1.42% of gross domestic product in the first quarter, compared with a shortfall of 1.07% at end-February, finance ministry data showed on Friday.
In nominal terms, the deficit stood at 22.8 billion lei ($5.08 billion). Revenues amounted to 114.17 billion lei, or 7.1% of GDP. Spending stood at 136.92 billion lei. Investment spending, including EU funds, stood at 13.16 billion lei, up 56.5% from the same period of last year.
The European Union state targets a shortfall of 4.4% this year. Earlier this month, Finance Minister Adrian Caciu said the government aimed to cut spending by 20 billion lei after tax collections slowed in the first quarter, but the ruling coalition has so far struggled to agree on measures. ($1 = 4.4911 lei) (Reporting by Luiza Ilie)
