Treasury: U.S. Gov’t Ran $57.6B Deficit in May

WASHINGTON – The federal government posted a $57.6 billion federal deficit for May, down $78 billion or 58% from the $135.9 billion deficit in May 2010. Receipts are up 19% from last May, spending down 18%.

In April the deficit was a revised $40.4 billion.

The primary factor in the smaller May deficit was a $45 billion downward re-estimate of net spending by the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had a median forecast of $130 billion for the May deficit. However, that was before the Congressional Budget Office released a deficit forecast of $59 billion earlier this week.

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