ANKARA
Turkey ran a budget deficit of 2.7 billion Turkish lira ($1.2 billion) over the January-to-August period, Turkey's Finance Ministry has reported.
The number constitutes 8.2 percent of the estimated 33.3 billion lira budget deficit for 2014, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said: "The number shows that the country will comfortably reach its target for the deficit."
Turkey's budgetary expenses increased by 10.1 percent, excluding payments on interest, to 286 billion lira in the first eight months, while incomes increased by 8.9 percent, reaching 283.2 billion lira.
In August, Turkey ran a budget surplus of 5.9 billion Turkish lira while the budget deficit in the same period a year earlier was 3.14 billion lira, the ministry added.
Turkey's Finance Ministry has estimated budget expenses for the 2014 fiscal year will reach 436.4 billion lira, while budget income for 2014 is estimated to reach 403.2 billion lira.
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