Budget surplus. (New Business).

Thanks in large part to a windfall in oil receipts, the federal government in early November announced the nation was operating deeper in the black for the first nine months of the year.

The January through September surplus climbed to 13.3 billion pesos from 5.3 million pesos over the same period a year ago, according to figures released by the Finance Secretariat.

Hacienda officials said that they do not expect to institute any spending cuts.

Despite the surplus, the collected revenue still did not reach expectations, due largely to the ineffectiveness of new tax laws and their inconsistent collection.