Swedish budget deficit decreased in 2015

Swedish central government payments resulted in a deficit of SEK 32.7 billion in 2015. ^[1] The Debt Office's forecast from October was a deficit of SEK 45 billion. The difference is mainly explained by higher tax income.

The deficit - the net borrowing requirement - of SEK 32.7 billion can be compared with a deficit of SEK 72.2 billion in 2014. The improvement between years is mainly explained by increased tax income due to a stronger development in the economy.

Central government debt amounted to SEK 1 403 billion at the end of December which was SEK 9 billion higher than in December 2014.

Deficit in December

Central government payments resulted in a deficit of SEK 98.5 billion in December. The Debt Office's forecast was a deficit of SEK 99.0 billion.

Payments to local governments were higher than expected as the Swedish parliament has approved an additional central government grant of SEK 10 billion. This was partially offset by tax income being SEK 5 billion higher than forecast.

The Debt Office's net lending to government agencies was SEK 3.9 billion lower than forecast. The deviation is mainly due to higher deposits from the Swedish Pensions Agency and the Swedish Export Credits Guarantee Board.

Interest payments on central government debt were SEK 1.2 billion lower than forecast due to slightly higher premiums on bond issues and foreign exchange gains.

The outcome for January will be published on 5 February, at. 09:30 a.m.

Contact
Johan Sandberg, senior analyst, +46 (0)8 613 47 37
Linda Rudberg, press officer, +46 (0)8 613 45 38

Central government net borrowing requirement1 (SEK million)
	Outcome December	Forecast December	Deviation December	Acc.  Dev2	Outcome 12-month
Net borrowing requirement	98 457	98 951	-494	-12 768	32 655
Primary borrowing requirement excl. net lending3	59 482	54 959	4 523	-6 217	427
Net lending to agencies etc.	25 351	29 209	-3 858	-4 367	10 819
Interest payments on central government debt	13 623	14 782	-1 159	-2 184	21 408
- Interest on loans in SEK	14 206	15 181	-975	-2 624	11 332
- Interest on loans in foreign currency	-14	-42	28	-22	-220
- Realised currency gains and losses	-569	-357	-212	462	10 297
1 The net borrowing requirement corresponds to the budget balance with opposite sign.
2 Sum of monthly forecast deviations since the latest forecast (October 2015).
3 Net of the state's primary expenditure and income excluding net lending to agencies.

More data on the borrowing requirement and government debt:

https://www.riksgalden.se/en/For-investors/Borrowing-and-the-government-debt/

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