US budget deficit running 6.2 per cent higher than last year through first 4 months

WASHINGTON – The federal government ran a bigger deficit in January, pushing the imbalance so far this budget year up 6.2 per cent from the same period a year ago.

The Treasury Department says the deficit for January stood at $17.5 billion compared to $10.3 billion a year ago. For the first four months of the budget year that began in October, the deficit totals $194.2 billion, up from the $182.8 billion deficit incurred during the same period last year.

Last year’s deficit was lowered by a $24 billion special payment Freddie Mac made for the support it received during the financial crisis. The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting the deficit for the full 2015 budget year will be 3.1 per cent lower than in 2014.