WASHINGTON — The federal government ran a $94.6 billion budget deficit in July, the Treasury reported Tuesday.
The deficit followed a $70.5 billion surplus in June and was smaller than the median $96 billion deficit predicted by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.
Outlays in July totaled $305.2 billion, compared to $253.1 billion in June. Receipts totaled $210.6 billion in July, compared to $323.6 billion for the previous month.
Fiscal year to date, there was a $460.5 billion deficit, compared to a $607 billion deficit for the same period last year. The 2014 figure is the lowest deficit for the first 10 months of the federal fiscal year since 2008, a Treasury official said. The 2014 federal fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
In July 2013, the U.S. government ran a $97.6 billion deficit. Fifty-eight of the last 60 Julys had deficits, the Treasury official said.
Year-over-year changes to July and FYTD results were impacted by timing-related transactions, Treasury said. Taking into account calendar adjustments, July 2014 would have had an $86 billion deficit, which is $12 billion less than the adjusted deficit in July 2013. The FYTD 2014 deficit would have been $452 billion, $156 billion less than the adjusted deficit for the same period in 2013.
