The funds deficit rises in November, making the fiscal 2025 deficit 64% larger than a yr in the past
The US Treasury Department building in Washington, DC, USA, on Tuesday, August 15, 2023.
Nathan Howard | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The U.S. budget deficit widened in November, putting fiscal 2025 already ahead at a much faster pace than a year ago, when the deficit topped $1.8 trillion, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday.
For the month, the deficit totaled $366.8 billion, up 17% from November 2023 and more than 64% higher overall than the same period last year on an unadjusted basis.
The increase came despite revenue totaling $301.8 billion, about $27 billion more than in November last year. Total spending was $668.5 billion, up nearly $80 billion from a year ago.
The surge in red ink pushed the national debt to $36.1 trillion by the end of the month.
On an adjusted basis, the deficit was $286 billion and has reached $544 billion year to date, an increase of 19%.
Although the Fed has made two interest rate cuts since September totaling three-quarters of a percentage point, interest expenses continue to contribute heavily to the deficit. Net interest expense totaled $79 billion this month and now stands at $160 billion for the fiscal year, surpassing all other spending except Social Security, Medicare, defense and health care.
The Treasury expects to pay a total of $1.2 trillion in interest on debt this year.
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