Greece says Jan-July budget shortfall narrows 39.7%

Greece's budget shortfall shrank 39.7 percent for the first seven months of the year compared with the same period last year, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.

The central government budget deficit, which excludes spending by local government and social security organisations, stood at 12.1 billion euros compared with 20.1 billion euros in the same period in 2009, the ministry said in a statement.