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First Posted: 9/12/2013
(AP) The U.S. government posted a narrower budget deficit in August compared with a year ago, keeping the annual gap on track to be the smallest in five years.
The Treasury Department says the deficit in August was $147.9 billion, down from $191 billion in August 2012. That brings the budget gap to $755 billion for the first 11 months of the budget year, down 35 percent from nearly $1.2 trillion a year earlier.
The government is likely to post a surplus in September, lowering the full-year deficit to $642 billion, the Congressional Budget Office forecasts. That would be the first deficit below $1 trillion in five years.
Steady economic growth and higher tax rates boosted the government’s revenue 4 percent in August, while spending was 10 percent lower.
Associated Press