Brazil Misses 2013 Fiscal Target as Deficit Reaches Record

Brazil missed its fiscal target in 2013 as government spending outpaced revenue by the widest year-end amount on record.

Brazil’s budget gap in 2013 reached 157.6 billion reais ($64.9 billion) after widening in December to 13.6 billion reais from 0.2 billion reais a month earlier. That’s the biggest year-end deficit since the series started in 2002. The median forecast from six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for a monthly shortfall of 14 billion reais. The primary surplus in December was 10.4 billion reais, below the median forecast of