Public accounts closed the month of September with a negative balance, a result of the deficit in all spheres: Central Government, regional governments and state-owned companies. The consolidated public sector – formed by the Union, states, municipalities and state-owned companies – recorded a primary deficit of R$7.340 billion in September.
The value, however, is lower than the negative result of R$ 18.071 billion recorded in the same month of 2023. In this inter-annual comparison, there was an improvement in the accounts of the consolidated public sector due to the improvement in the accounts of the Central Government, even though it continues to have a deficit . In the case of regional governments, the deficit worsened.
Fiscal Statistics were released this Monday (11) 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.
Year-to-date, the consolidated public sector records a primary deficit of R$93.561 billion. In 12 months – ending in September – the accounts accumulated a negative result of R$ 245.605 billion, which corresponds to 2.15% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP, the sum of all goods and services produced in the country).
In 2023, public accounts closed the year with a primary deficit of R$249.124 billion, 2.29% of GDP.
Spheres of government
Last September, the Central Government account (Social Security, Central Bank and National Treasury) had a primary deficit of R$3.974 billion compared to a negative result of R$16.506 billion in September 2023. The amount of the deficit differs from the result released on the last day 7 by the National Treasury, of deficit of R$5.326 billion in September because, in addition to considering local governments and state-owned companies, the BC uses a different methodology, which takes into account the variation in the debt of public entities.
According to the BC, the reduction in the Central Government’s deficit is due to the 8% increase in revenues, in a magnitude greater than expenses, which grew 1.4% in September 2024 compared to the same month in 2023.
State governments also recorded a deficit of R$597 million in September, compared to a deficit of R$374 million in September last year. Municipal governments had a negative result of R$2.575 billion in September this year. In the same month of 2023, there was a deficit of R$691 million for these entities.
As a result, in total, regional governments – state and municipal – had a deficit of R$3.173 billion in September 2024 compared to a negative result of R$1.065 billion in the same month last year.
Likewise, federal, state and municipal state-owned companies – excluded from the Petrobras and Eletrobras groups – also contributed to the deficit in public accounts, with a primary deficit of R$192 million in September 2024. In the same month last year, the deficit was R$500 million.
Interest expenses
Interest expenses were R$46.427 billion in September this year, a significant reduction compared to the R$81.714 billion recorded in September 2023. From August to September 2024, there was also a drop. In the eighth month of the year, interest expenses were R$68.955 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 September. The results of these operations are transferred to the payment of interest on the public debt, as revenue when there are gains and as expenses when there are losses.
In September 2023, the account swaps it had losses of R$15.9 billion, while in the same month this year it had gains of R$20 billion.
As a result, the nominal result of public accounts – formed by the primary result and interest expenses – fell by almost half in the interannual comparison. In the month of September, the nominal deficit was R$53.767 billion against the negative result of R$99.785 billion in the same month of 2023.
In the 12 months ending in September, the public sector accumulated a deficit of R$1.065 trillion, or 9.34% 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$7.117 trillion in September, which corresponds to 62.4% of GDP. In August, the percentage of net debt in relation to GDP was 62% (R$7.026 trillion).
In the month of September this year, the gross general government debt (DBGG) – which only accounts for the liabilities of the federal, state and municipal governments – reached R$8.928 trillion or 78.3%, a reduction in relation to the previous month, in terms of percentage of GDP (R$8.898 trillion or 78.5% of GDP). Just like the nominal result, gross debt is used to draw international comparisons.
