Weekly Report - 03 August 2017 (WR-17-30)

URUGUAY | Fiscal deficit creeps up. Uruguay’s economy & finance ministry (MEF) reported on 31 July that the country’s fiscal deficit reached 3.6% of GDP (equivalent to US$1.97bn) in the rolling 12-month period to June. The result is two percentage points higher than the deficit reported back in May and should be a concern for the government led by President Tabaré Vázquez as it goes against its declared efforts to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3.3% of GDP this year (and to 2.5% of GDP by 2018).