February deficit widens yr/yr
February Treasury Budget; the government posted a February deficit which came in slightly worse than expected, pressured in part by higher individual tax refunds brought on by the IRS’ work to get through its recent backlog of returns.
The Treasury Budget for February showed a deficit of $262.4 bln versus a deficit of $216.6 bln a year ago. The Treasury Budget data is not seasonally adjusted, so the February deficit cannot be compared to the deficit of $38.8 bln for January.
Total receipts of $262.1 bln fell 9.6% compared to last year while total outlays of $524.5 bln rose about 3.6% compared to last year.
The total year-to-date budget deficit now stands at $722.6 bln vs $475.6 bln at this point a year ago.