US budget deficit hits $296 billion in February

The US federal government's budget deficit increased by 13 percent in February compared to the same month the previous year, reaching $296 billion. The US Treasury Department released its budget balance report for February. Accordingly, the federal government's budget deficit was calculated as $296 billion in the fifth month of the 2024 fiscal year, which started on October 1, 2023 and ends on September 30. The federal government had a budget deficit of $262 billion in February of last year. Thus, the budget deficit increased by 13 percent in February compared to the same month the previous year. The market expectation for the budget balance during this period was for a deficit of $298.5 billion. The government's revenues increased by 3 percent in February, reaching $271 billion, and its expenditures increased by 8 percent, reaching $567 billion. 15% increase in 5-month budget deficit As of February, the 5th month of the 2024 fiscal year, the country's total budget deficit increased by 15 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching $828 billion. The deficit was realized as $723 billion in the same period of the previous year. Expenditures in the first 5 months of the fiscal year increased by 9 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching $2 trillion 684 billion, while revenues increased by 7 percent, reaching approximately $1 trillion 856 billion. The U.S. budget deficit increased by 23 percent in fiscal 2023 compared to the previous year, reaching $1.7 trillion.