by Calculated Risk on 12/06/2013 05:26:00 PM
Friday, December 06, 2013
CBO: Federal Deficit declined Sharply in October and November compared to last year
From the Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Monthly Budget Review for November 2013
The federal government ran a budget deficit of $231 billion for the first two months of fiscal year 2014, $61 billion less than the shortfall recorded in October and November of last year, CBO estimates.The most recent CBO projection put the fiscal 2014 deficit at 3.3% of GDP, down from 4.1% in fiscal 2013. These monthly deficits suggest even more improvement in fiscal 2014 than originally forecast.
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Receipts for the first two months of fiscal year 2014 totaled $380 billion, CBO estimates—$34 billion more than receipts during the same period last year.
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Outlays for the first two months of fiscal year 2014 were $27 billion less than they were during the same period last year, CBO estimates. That decrease would have been slightly larger if not for shifts in the timing of certain payments from December to November (because December 1 fell on a weekend in both years). Without those timing shifts, CBO estimates, spending would have declined by $29 billion (or 5 percent).