The federal government ran a $49.2 billion surplus in January, the Treasury Department reported Monday.
Outlays in January totaled $311.802 billion. Receipts totaled $361.038 billion.
In January 2017, the government ran a $51.3 billion surplus.
Economists polled by IFR Markets predicted a $51.0 billion surplus.
In December, the government ran a $23.2 billion deficit.
For the fiscal year to date, the government has a $175.7 billion deficit, compared to a $158.6 billion deficit for the similar period in fiscal 2016.