U.S. Fiscal Year Deficit Widens to $666 Billion

The U.S. budget deficit widened to $666 billion for the fiscal year 2017 as record spending more than offset record receipts, the Treasury Department said on Friday.

The 2017 deficit increased to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product. The previous fiscal year deficit was $586 billion, with a deficit-to-GDP ratio of 3.2 percent.

The latest fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, straddled the presidencies of Barack Obama, a Democrat, and Donald Trump, a Republican.

Accounting for calendar adjustments, the 2017 fiscal year deficit was $644 billion compared with $546 billion the prior year.

Fiscal 2017 revenues increased 1 percent to $3.315 trillion, while spending rose 3 percent to $3.981 trillion. (Read more from “U.S. Fiscal Year Deficit Widens to $666 Billion” HERE)

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