5M Budget Incomes Exceeds 2007 Plan By 4.8% - Finance Ministry

As of June 4, budget income for the first 5 months of the year exceeded the government’s plan by 4.8%. The Finance Ministry also announced 5M budget expenditures were 4.6% lower than expected.  Polina Khomenko:  Maintaining a budget surplus in the first half of the year is typical for Ukraine however, better-than-expected economic performance this year supported the surplus. We estimate that the budget will slip into red by year end as spending increases, but we expect the deficit to be about USD 2.4 bln, much lower than the government forecast of USD 3.1 bln.