U.S. Posts Smaller Budget Deficit in January Than CBO Forecast

The U.S. budget deficit for January was smaller than economists forecast as stronger growth and rising employment boosts tax revenue, Treasury Department figures showed.

Spending exceeded revenue by $17.5 billion last month, compared with a $10.3 billion shortfall a year earlier, the department said in a report released today in Washington. That was narrower than the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 20 economists and a Congressional Budget Office forecast that were both for a $19 billion deficit.