Greece’s 2012 Budget Deficit Narrows 31 Percent to Beat Target

Greece’s budget deficit narrowed 31 percent in 2012, slightly more than an initial estimate earlier this month, as the government cut spending and revenue dropped less than anticipated.

The budget gap, excluding spending by state-controlled enterprises, narrowed to 15.7 billion euros ($21 billion) from 22.8 billion euros in 2011, according to final figures released today by the Athens-based Finance Ministry. The figure is smaller than a preliminary estimate of 15.9 billion euros made on Jan. 10, and beat the government’s 16.3 billion-euro target.