U.S. Posts Widest Monthly Surplus Since 2008 on Revenue

The U.S. posted its widest budget surplus in five years in April as an improving economy swelled tax revenue, easing pressure on lawmakers to lift the nation’s debt ceiling.

The surplus for the month when tax payments are due increased to $112.9 billion, the biggest since April 2008, from $59.1 billion a year earlier, the Treasury said in its monthly budget statement today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 24 economists was for an April surplus of $112 billion.