Canada reports modest budget surplus for February

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada reported a modest budget surplus of C$3.2 billion ($2.56 billion)in February, the federal government said on Friday.

The country's finance department also said it had a surplus for the April to February period of the 2015-16 fiscal year. The surplus was C$7.5 billion, compared to a surplus of C$5.9 billion reported for the same period of 2014–15.

For the fiscal year-to-date total, revenue was up 6.2 percent. Program expenses rose 7.0 percent, while public debt charges were down 5.0 percent.

The surpluses are expected to end soon. Canada's new Liberal government said on March 22 that in a bid to revive growth it would run deficits for several years.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and James Dalgleish)