Canada budget deficit over first four months of 2024/25 jumps to C$7.3 billion

OTTAWA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Canada recorded a sharply higher C$7.29 billion ($5.41 billion) budget deficit for the first four months of the 2024/25 fiscal year as government expenditures grew faster than revenues, the finance ministry said on Friday.

By comparison, the deficit in the same period a year earlier had been C$1.24 billion, it said in a statement.

Program expenses rose 13.5% on increases across all major categories of spending. Public debt charges jumped by 28.8% largely because of higher interest rates, the ministry said.

Year-to-date revenues grew by 10.2%, reflecting increases in all major categories of revenue.

On a monthly basis, Canada posted a deficit of C$4.41 billion in July, compared with a C$4.86 billion deficit in July 2023.

($1 = 1.3479 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee, editing by Ismail Shakil)

((Reuters Ottawa bureau; david.ljunggren@tr.com))

Keywords: CANADA BUDGET/