Consolidated budget sees 819 million lei surplus in January

The general consolidated budget posted 819 million lei (193 million euro) in surplus in January compared with a surplus of 15 million lei in the same time of 2010 because of the increase in the VAT receipts and of the lower spending related to the wages of the public sector employees.
"Some surplus was expected because January is usually a month when not that many payments are made. The surplus in January is not necessarily a positive surprise, but it is a good sign nonetheless, considering the improvement of the budget execution structure through a decline in personnel and goods and services spending," comments Nicolae Chidesciuc, ING Bank's chief economist.
General consolidated budget revenues reached 14.6 billion lei in January, up 3.6% compared with the same month of 2010 because of the higher VAT receipts. Spending went down 2.1% to 13.8 billion lei, with the steepest decline registered by wage expenses for public sector employees in mid last year.