WASHINGTON — The federal government ran a $121.7 billion budget deficit in October, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.
The October deficit followed a $105.8 billion surplus in September. The October deficit was larger than the median $111.7 billion deficit projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.
Outlays in October totaled $334.4 billion, compared to $245.9 billion in September. Receipts totaled $212.7 billion in October, compared to $351.7 billion for the previous month.
In October 2013, the government ran a $90.6 billion deficit. October is the first month in the federal government's fiscal year.
The October 2014 deficit is the fourth largest October deficit. The federal government has run a deficit in each of the last 61 Octobers, a Treasury official said.
Year-over-year changes to October were impacted by timing-related transactions, Treasury said. Taking into account calendar adjustments, the October 2014 deficit would have been $84 billion, $6 billion less than the deficit in October 2013.
