US Posts Record-High $235.3B Budget Deficit in Feb.

The U.S. budget deficit was a record $235.3 billion in February, indicating the gap was widening even before the impact of any potential fiscal stimulus that the White House and Congress may deliver to cushion the impact from the coronavirus outbreak.

The deficit reflected $423.3 billion in outlays and $188 billion in revenue, according to Treasury Department data released Wednesday.

The gap was slightly wider than the previous record of $234 billion in February 2019, and in line with the $235 billion estimate of the Congressional Budget Office.

So far in the fiscal year than began in October, the nation is running a $624.5 billion deficit, more than the $544.2 billion shortfall in same period of 2019. The Treasury estimates the gap will exceed $1 trillion this fiscal year, the largest since 2012.

Net individual income-tax receipts so far in fiscal 2020 stand at $671.1 billion, more than the $626.6 billion in the same period the prior year. Net corporate income taxes are also running higher.

Year-to-date spending, however, has climbed to just under $2 trillion, compared with $1.82 trillion in fiscal 2019.