CAIRO- Egypt's parliament on Tuesday passed the state budget for the fiscal year to June 2019, targeting a deficit of 8.4 percent.

Egypt expects a budget deficit for the current fiscal year of around 9.8 percent, slightly higher than the target of 9.1 percent.

The budget must be ratified by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, viewed as a formality, before taking into effect.

(Reporting by Nashaat Hamdy; Writing by Nadine Awadalla and Eric Knecht; editing by John Stonestreet) ((Nadine.Awadalla@thomsonreuters.com;))