US posts record breaking deficit

April 11, 2008
US posts record breaking deficit

WASHINGTON—The US government turned in a $48.14-billion budget deficit for March and a record deficit for the first six months of the fiscal year despite record receipts for the month, the US Treasury said on Thursday.

The March deficit compared with a year-earlier deficit of $96.27 billion and with the $71.0-billion deficit forecast by economists polled by Reuters.

For the first six months of the fiscal year, the Department of Treasury saw a record $311.4-billion deficit which broke the previous record of a mid-year budget gap of $302.9 billion set in fiscal year 2006.