US posts $76.48 billion budget deficit in August

With only one month leftin the fiscal year, the US budget deficit moved further intorecord territory, passing the $400 billion…

With only one month leftin the fiscal year, the US budget deficit moved further intorecord territory, passing the $400 billion mark for the firsttime, the Treasury Department said today.

A shortfall of $76.48 billion dollars last month, while abit less than expected in financial markets, pushed the fiscal2003 year-to-date budget gap up to $400.46 billion, a reportfrom the Treasury said.

With the fiscal year drawing to a close at the end of thismonth, the August figure suggested the budget gap for the 2003budget year would handily outstrip the previous record of $290billion set in 1992.

August's shortfall compared to a budget gap of only $54.71billion in August last year.