South Africa’s National Treasury said on Thursday that it saw the current fiscal year’s budget deficit at 7.8% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared to a 9.3% projection made in February. In its medium-term budget policy statement, the Treasury also said it saw gross debt peaking at a lower level of 78.1% of GDP in 2025/26, compared to 88.9% seen in February. The improved projections were influenced by bumper mining tax receipts linked to high metals prices and a GDP rebasing exercise by the statistics agency. (Reporting by Alexander Winning ; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)