A balanced budget may be increasingly beyond the government's reach, according to new Central Bank data, despite a retreat from infrastructure spending, usually used to spur an idling economy.

Comparing the administration's initial estimates for the first eight months of the fiscal year to actual numbers, "the government's overall deficit widened by 24.4 percent ($18.2 million) to $92.7 million," reads the March economic and development report. "Expenditures grew by 2.8 percent to $966.1 million, surpassing the 1.0 percent rise in revenue receipts to $873.4 million."

The changes come as growth in current spending increased by 5.1 percent. On the list of government expenses were higher wages and the increased outlay of cash for transfers and subsidies.

Infrastructure spending - often the weapon of choice for governments looking to boost economic performance during a downturn - actually fell.

"Reduced spending for infrastructure projects tempered capital expenditure by 5.9 percent," says the Central Bank.