BUDAPEST —Hungary’s budget posted a 376.4 billion forint ($1.04 billion) deficit in April, widening the shortfall for January-April to 71 percent of its full-year target, as surging debt servicing and pensions spending offset a rise in revenue, data showed on Monday.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government aims to narrow the budget deficit to 4 percent of its output target this year from a higher-than-expected 4.9 percent shortfall in 2024.
Orban has banked on an economic recovery to help him secure another term in next year’s elections when he is expected to face the sternest opposition challenge in well over a decade.
The recovery, initially expected last year, has so far failed to materialize however, forcing his government to cut its 2025 growth forecast and raise the deficit target.
Orban’s government has also implemented a “substantial freeze” in the budget to address the deterioration, Economy Ministry State Secretary Kornel Kisgergely told financial news website portfolio.hu on Monday without providing details.
Data published on Monday showed the deficit widening to 2.93 trillion forints in the first four months compared with a 4.123 trillion full-year target despite a 10.9 percent increase in revenue.
