US budget deficit widens to $399B from $208B a year earlier

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The U.S. government’s budget deficit rose 92 percent in May from a year earlier to $399 billion, as revenues plummeted and spending surged on efforts to stem the new coronavirus pandemic and the fallout from lockdowns.

Federal revenues fell 25 percent last month from a year earlier to $174 billion, the Treasury Department said Wednesday. Spending rose 30 percent to $573 billion.

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In the fiscal year to date, the federal budget gap stood at a record $1.88 trillion, up 155 percent from the first eight months of the 2019 fiscal year. Fiscal year-to-date revenues are down 11 percent at $2.019 trillion, while outlays are up 29 percent at $3.9 trillion.

Senior Treasury Department officials said the federal government’s efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and related economic downturn added about $250 billion to the deficit in May and nearly $900 billion in April.

Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.