WASHINGTON (AP) – The federal government ran a slightly smaller deficit in February than a year ago but the imbalance through the first five months of the budget year is still running ahead of last year.
The Treasury Department says the deficit in February was $192.3 billion, down from a deficit in February 2014 of $193.5 billion. For the first five months of this budget year, the deficit totals $386.5 billion, up 2.7 percent from a deficit of $376.4 billion during the first five months of the 2014 budget year.
For the entire budget year, which ends Sept. 30, the Congressional Budget Office is forecasting a deficit of $486 billion, up 0.6 percent from the 2014 deficit of $483.3 billion. The 2014 deficit was the smallest annual imbalance in six years.