September 30, 2007	Sunday	Ramazan 17, 1428

FRANKFURT, Sept 29: Germany expects an essentially balanced budget this year, for the first time since its reunification in 1990 and nearly three years ahead of schedule, a finance ministry spokesman said on Friday.

The budget should have a deficit of at most 0.1 per cent of gross domestic product, he said, compared with the latest official forecast of a much larger deficit of 1.2 per cent of GDP.

The main reason (for the improvement) is an increase in fiscal receipts, which show a surplus of 15.5 billion euros (22 billion dollars) compared with our last evaluation, the spokesman said.

The public accounts include spending at the federal, regional and local levels, as well as the social security budget.—AFP