PRAGUE: Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babis reiterated on Wednesday that the 2015 central state budget deficit should be about 70 billion crowns ($2.83 billion), well below the target level.

The deficit for this year was planned at 100 billion crowns and Babis said on public television that, as of Wednesday, the gap was 58 billion crowns.

Babis spoke before the parliament's final reading of the central budget for 2016, which has a planned deficit of 70 billion crowns.

Copyright Reuters, 2015