Public accounts closed the month of August with a negative balance, a total result of the federal government’s deficit. The consolidated public sector – formed by the Union, states, municipalities and state-owned companies – recorded a primary deficit of R$21.425 billion last month. The value, however, is lower than the negative result of R$22.830 billion recorded in the same month of 2023.
Fiscal Statistics were released this Monday (30) by the Central Bank (BC). The primary deficit represents the negative result of public sector accounts (expenses minus revenues), disregarding interest payments on public debt.
According to the BC, in the first eight months of this year, the consolidated public sector had a primary deficit of R$86.222 billion. In 12 months – ending in August – the accounts accumulated a primary deficit of R$256.337 billion, which corresponds to 2.26% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP, sum of all goods and services produced in the country).
Last year, public accounts closed the year with a primary deficit of R$249.124 billion, 2.29% of GDP.
Last August, the Central Government account (Social Security, Central Bank and National Treasury) had a primary deficit of R$22.329 billion compared to a negative result of R$26.182 billion in August 2023. The value contributed to the entire public account deficit consolidated.
State governments registered a surplus in August of R$3.386 billion, compared to a surplus of R$1.831 billion in August last year. On the other hand, municipal governments had a negative result of R$2.951 billion in August this year. In the same month of 2023, there was a surplus of R$654 million for these entities.
As a result, in total, regional governments – state and municipal – had a surplus of R$435 million last month against a positive result of R$2.485 billion in August 2023. The result contributed to reducing the deficit in the consolidated public sector.
In the same sense, federal, state and municipal state-owned companies – excluded from the Petrobras and Eletrobras groups – had a primary surplus of R$469 million in August, compared to a surplus of R$866 million in the same month of 2023.
Interest expenses
Interest expenses were R$68.955 billion in August this year, a reduction compared to the R$83.731 billion recorded in August 2023. From July to August 2024, there was also a significant reduction. That month, interest expenses were R$80.124 billion.
According to the BC, it is not common for the interest account to show large variations, especially negative ones, as interest is appropriated on a monthly basis. But, in this result, there are the effects of the Central Bank’s operations in the foreign exchange market (swap exchange rate, which is the sale of dollars in the futures market) which, in this case, contributed to the improvement in the interest account in August. The results of these operations are transferred to the payment of interest on public debt, as revenue when there are gains and as expenses when there are losses.
In August 2023, the account swaps it had losses of R$10.5 billion, while in the same month this year, gains were R$1.7 billion.
The nominal result of public accounts – formed by the primary result and interest expenses – had a reduction in the interannual comparison. In the month of August, the nominal deficit was R$90.381 billion against the negative result of R$106.561 billion in the same month of 2023.
In the 12 months ending in August, the public sector accumulated a deficit of R$1.111 trillion, or 9.81% of GDP. The nominal result is taken into account by risk rating agencies when analyzing a country’s debt, an indicator observed by investors.
Public debt
The public sector’s net debt – the balance between the total credits and debts of federal, state and municipal governments – reached R$7.026 trillion in August, which corresponds to 62% of GDP. In July, the percentage of net debt in relation to GDP was 61.8% (R$6.962 trillion).
In the month of August this year, the gross general government debt (DBGG) – which only accounts for the liabilities of the federal, state and municipal governments – reached R$8.898 trillion or 78.5%, an increase compared to the previous month ( R$8.826 trillion or 78.4% of GDP). Just like the nominal result, gross debt is used to draw international comparisons.
