"The government is responding to the crisis caused by the sanctions with disciplined fiscal policy, while ensuring, without fail, the necessary funding for the maintenance of regulated utilities prices, secure energy supply, the maintenance of family subsidies, and the preservation of the value of pensions," Varga said.
He noted that the general government also had a surplus of more than HUF 100 bln for September. In a scheduled release later in the morning, the Ministry of Finance said the monthly surplus brought the January-October deficit to HUF 2.59 trillion. The central budget deficit reached HUF 2.684 tln at the end of October.
The social security funds were HUF 195.7 bln in the red, while the separate state funds had a surplus of HUF 289.2 bln. The full-year cash flow-based general government deficit target is HUF 3.153 bln.
The ministry noted that the government had ordered "disciplined" fiscal management at budget-funded institutions to make savings.
"Thanks to those measures, the budget closed October with a surplus of over HUF 100 bln, as in September," it added.
The government will continue to manage the budget in a "thrifty" manner as long as sanctions that have driven up energy prices remain in place, the ministry said. Revenue from taxes and contributions rose by 17.1% in January-October from the same period a year earlier, it added.
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