Canada posts budget surplus in first six months of 2018/19

Canada posted a budget surplus of C$1.21 billion in the first six months of the 2018-19 fiscal year compared with a C$6.18 billion deficit in the same period a year earlier, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.

Revenues jumped by 8.8 percent in the April-September period, helped by a greater intake from taxes and employment insurance premiums. Program expenses were up 2.8 percent.

In September, Canada ran a budget deficit of C$1.36 billion compared with a deficit of C$3.28 billion a year earlier.

Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Peter Cooney