The federal government ran a $27.5 billion deficit in December, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.
The December deficit was larger than the median $21.0 billion deficit predicted by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.
Outlays in December totaled $346.720 billion. Receipts totaled $319.204 billion.
In December 2015, the government ran a $14.4 billion deficit.
For the fiscal year to date, the government has a $208.359 billion deficit, compared to a $215.551 billion deficit for the similar period on fiscal 2016.