Greece's finance ministry says its bid to cut the country's bloated budget deficit is on track, with overspending down by nearly 40 percent in the first seven months. A ministry statement says while overall spending cuts were above target, revenues grew at a slower pace than expected, AP cited preliminary data as saying. As a result, the deficit cut slowed from 45.4 percent in the first six months to 39.7 percent in the January-July period _ still above the 39.5 percent annual target. The ministry said Tuesday the decline «can be traced to ordinary revenue increases slightly lagging behind the target as well as to a substantial increase of interest expenditures in July.» Greece narrowly avoided bankruptcy in May, with the aid of vital international loans.
