2026.04.3012:47:37UTC+00Brazil Budget Gap Surges Again in March

Brazil’s nominal budget deficit surged to BRL 199.5 billion in March 2026, up from BRL 71.6 billion in the same month a year earlier, significantly exceeding market expectations of a BRL 148 billion shortfall. The central government deficit expanded to BRL 187 billion from BRL 69 billion in March 2025, while the combined deficit of regional governments increased to BRL 11.3 billion from BRL 1.7 billion a year earlier. At the same time, the shortfall of state-owned enterprises widened to BRL 1.3 billion, compared with BRL 0.9 billion a year ago. Public debt rose to 80.1% of GDP, up from 79.2% in the previous month and above market forecasts of 79.6%.