Greek Jan-May primary budget surplus at 918mn euros, beats target

ATHENS: Greece's central government achieved a primary budget surplus of 918 million euros ($1.03 billion) in the first five months of the year, well above target, thanks to higher revenues, finance ministry data showed on Tuesday.

The government was projecting a primary budget deficit - which excludes debt-servicing costs - of 1.44 billion euros for the January-May period, meaning the surplus outperformed the target by 2.36 billion euros.

The central government surplus excludes the budgets of social security funds and local administration. It differs from the figure monitored by Greece's foreign lenders but does indicate the state of the country's finances.