OTTAWA, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Canada recorded a slightly higher C$22.72 billion ($15.66 billion) budget deficit for the first eight months of the 2024/25 fiscal year compared to the previous year-ago period as government expenditures grew faster than revenues, the finance ministry said on Friday.
The 2023/24 April-November deficit was C$19.14 billion, it said in a statement.
Program expenses over the eight months rose 11.3% on increases across all major categories of spending. Public debt charges increased by 17.4% largely due to higher interest rates on outstanding bonds and an increase in the total number of debt instruments, the ministry said.
Year-to-date revenues grew by 10.5% primarily due to higher tax reveneus.
On a monthly basis, Canada posted a deficit of C$8.21 billion in November, more than double the C$4.01 billion deficit posted in November 2023.
($1 = 1.4512 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee, editing by David Ljunggren)
((Reuters Ottawa bureau; david.ljunggren@tr.com))
Keywords: CANADA BUDGET/
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