By David Lawder
WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) – The US budget deficit will reach $1.897 trillion in the first 11 months of the 2024 fiscal year, the Treasury Department reported on Thursday, and annual interest costs on the public debt exceeded for the first time in trillion dollars.
The Treasury Department said the 2024 fiscal deficit through August rose 24% from $1.525 trillion in the comparable period a year earlier, partly due to higher interest rates but also because $319 billion of spending reversed in August 2023 for President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, which was struck down by the US Supreme Court.
Last year’s reduction was not repeated this year.
The 11-month shortfall is roughly in line with the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of a $1.9 trillion deficit for the entire 2024 fiscal year, pending the end of the fiscal year in September.
This year’s deficit is the largest, except for the COVID-19 years, and much higher than the balance of $1.695 trillion in fiscal year 2023.
Other factors driving the deficit for fiscal 2024 were rising costs for public Social Security and Medicare programs for the elderly, as well as defense programs, according to Treasury Department data.
Revenues for the first 11 months of fiscal 2024 increased 11% to $4.391 trillion, from $3.972 trillion in the same period of fiscal 2023, while total expenses were $6.288 trillion, a 14% increase over the 5.496 billion from one period of the previous fiscal year. .
In August, the Treasury Department reported a deficit of $380 billion, down from more than $89 billion in the same month last year, due to the repeal of Biden’s student loan forgiveness program.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing in Spanish by Manuel Farías)
2024-09-12 17:28:57
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