Colombia Sees Worst Fiscal Gap Since 2010 as Oil Revenues Vanish
- Minister says finances had worst shock in recent history
- Crude price this year doesn’t allow Ecopetrol to pay dividend
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Colombia’s fiscal deficit will widen this year to the most in six years as the government’s oil income disappears amid lower crude prices.
The government is targeting a 2016 budget gap of 3.9 percent of gross domestic product in its so-called medium-term financial plan, falling to 3.3 percent in 2017, Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas told reporters in Bogota. The Finance Ministry had previously targeted a 2016 deficit of 3.6 percent of GDP.