coronavirus pandemic has pushed the U.S. federal budget deficit above US$3 trillion for the first 11 months of fiscal 2020, more than doubling the previous full-year record, the U.S.
Treasury said on Friday.The budget deficit for August was US$200 billion, matching the deficit in August 2019 but lower than the US$245 billion forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.
However, US$55 billion worth of benefit payments were shifted into July because August started on a weekend.The US$3.007 trillion year-to-date deficit was nearly triple the US$1.067 trillion deficit for the comparable year-ago period, spurred by a massive increase in government spending to battle the economic fallout from the pandemic.