WASHINGTON — The federal government ran a $53.2 billion surplus in December, the Treasury reported Monday.
The surplus followed a $135.2 billion deficit in November and was greater than the median $44 billion surplus projected for December by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.
A Treasury official said that the surplus was the largest December surplus on record. There had not been a December surplus since 2007. Twenty-four of the last 60 Decembers were surpluses.
Outlays in December totaled $230.0 billion, compared to $317.7 billion in November. Receipts totaled $283.2 billion in December, compared to $182.5 billion for the previous month.
In December 2012, the government ran a $1.2 billion deficit.
Fiscal year to date, there was a $173.6 billion deficit, compared to a $120 billion deficit for the same period last year. The federal government's 2014 fiscal year began Oct. 1.
Year-over-year changes to December and to fiscal year-to-date results were impacted by timing-related transactions, Treasury said. Taking into account calendar adjustments, the December 2013 surplus would be $33 billion, $51 billion more than the adjusted deficit in December 2012. The adjusted fiscal year to date deficit through December 2013 is $148 billion, compared with an adjusted $277 billion fiscal year to date deficit through November 2012.
