Brazil’s June Primary Budget Gap Wider Than All Forecasts

Brazil’s central government primary budget deficit was wider last month than every analyst forecast, underscoring the challenges that Finance Minister Joaquim Levy faces in staving off a credit downgrade.

The gap, which excludes interest payments as well as states, municipalities and government-run companies, was 8.2 billion reais ($2.4 billion) in June, the biggest this year, Brazil’s Treasury said Thursday. The median estimate of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a gap of 3.5 billion reais following a deficit of 8.1 billion reais in May.