Fiscal deficit down in first quarter

INCREASED  government revenues helped reduce Panama’s the fiscal deficit at the end of the first quarter of 2016

It dropped more than $100 million to  $217 million, from the $338 million deficit recorded in the first quarter of 2015.

The fiscal deficit represented 0.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), down from 1.1 percent the previous year.

Deputy Minister of Economy Ivan Zarak said at a  Thursday May 12  press conference that total revenues amounted to $2.8 billion, 15.3 percent more than the previous year.