Egypt’s budget deficit increased to LE80.7 billion ($13 billion) during the first five months of the current fiscal year 2012/13, which starts in July, the Ministry of Finance reported on Sunday in a bulletin.

The same period of last year witnessed a budget deficit of LE58.4 billion ($9.5 billion).

The deficit is roughly 4.5 per cent of Egypt’s GDP, which rose from LE402.1 billion ($65.2 billion) in the first quarter of 2011/12 to LE445.8 billion ($72.2 billion) in the corresponding quarter in 2012/13, the report said.

The ministry stated that revenues were up by 40.3 per cent from July to November 2012 to reach LE108.5 billion ($17.5 billion) compared to LE77.4 billion ($12.5 billion) in the same period in 2011.

However, total expenditures have also been raised by 38.8 per cent in the aforementioned period in 2012 reaching LE188 billion ($30.4 billion).

Egypt’s budget deficit reached LE50 billion ($8 billion) in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2012/13 which means that the deficit has risen by LE30.7 billion in the last two months.

Last week the Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Hatem Saleh said at a press conference that the total budget deficit is expected to reach LE200 billion ($32.4 billion) by the end of this year.