Spanish public deficit stands at 6.62pc in \\\'13

MADRID, Mar 29 (Xinhua): Spain's public deficit stood at 6.62 per cent in 2013 without taking into account public financial aid injected into Spanish banks, the Spanish government announced on Friday.

The government described the data as positive because Spain "almost" meets the target though the figure was slightly above the 6.5 per cent required by Brussels.

The figures issued at a press conference following a cabinet meeting showed the deficit of the State, which includes central administration and Social Security deficits, stood at 5.49 per cent compared to the target of 5.2 per cent.

The deficit of the Spanish regions, Autonomous Communities, stood at 1.54 per cent compared to the 1.3 per cent required, while local governments registered a 0.41 per cent surplus.

Minister of Finance Cristobal Montoro emphasised that local governments were helping Spain to gain credibility and Spanish regions were making big efforts to reduce their deficits.

He also highlighted the fact that Spain was in recession in 2013 which made the country's gross domestic product fall by 28.399 billion euros pushing up the deficit.

Montoro also highlighted the efforts made by the Spanish society.