Bulgaria's fiscal deficit next year will be narrower than its target of 1.0 percent of gross domestic product, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov said on Sunday.
The Balkan country, which aims to achieve a balanced budget by 2020, also expects to run a smaller than targeted shortfall of 1.4 percent this year.
"The state is doing well, the next budget will have a smaller than planned deficit," Goranov told a news conference, adding his ministry would deliver a detailed 2018 budget draft in the second half of October.
The Black Sea state has pegged its lev currency to the euro, leaving fiscal policy as one of the few tools it has to influence the economy.
On Thursday, the ministry increased its forecast for 2017 economic growth to 4.0 percent from 3.0 percent, mainly due to strong domestic demand. It sees growth of 3.9 percent in 2018.
