By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) - The US federal government’s budget deficit fell sharply in March to $161 billion, marking a 32% decrease from the same month a year earlier, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.
In March 2024, the deficit stood at $237 billion. Analysts had projected a deeper shortfall for this March, with market expectations averaging $115.9 billion.
The improvement was driven by an 11% increase in revenues, which reached $368 billion, while government expenditures declined 7% to $528 billion.
Despite the March gains, the total US budget deficit for the first half of fiscal year 2025 -- which began in October -- climbed to $1.3 trillion, up 23% from $1.06 trillion in the same period of the previous year.