Some good news on the deficit...
UPDATE 1-U.S. May budget deficit narrows to $35.29 bln
Fri Jun 10, 2005 02:29 PM ET
(Adds details, comment in paragraphs 5-7)
WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. budget deficit narrowed in May by more than analysts had expected, as receipts grew more than spending, a government report showed on Friday.
The Treasury Department, in its monthly budget statement, reported a $35.29 billion budget gap last month. That compared with a $62.46 billion deficit in May 2004, and was the smallest deficit for May since 2001, when it totaled $27.9 billion.
The May deficit also was narrower than economists' forecast for a $47.50 billion deficit.
So far this year, the United States has recorded a $272.23 billion deficit, down from a cumulative $346.29 billion in the first eight months of fiscal 2004, which ended Sep. 30.
Total government receipts have reached $1.369 trillion so far this fiscal year, about 15.5 percent higher than the comparable period a year last year. Outlays so far this year have totaled $1.642 trillion, up about 7 percent, the report showed.
David Sloan, an economist at 4CAST Ltd., said he now expects the fiscal 2005 budget deficit to come in below $350 billion, and below 3 percent of gross domestic product.
"Much of the improvement from 2004 can be attributed to special factors but the deficit is now clearly falling," he said. |
