Soaring U.S. budget deficit takes a breather in July but it will soon be going back up – MarketWatch
The numbers: The U.S. budget deficit shrank in July to the lowest level since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but the government is still on track to post the biggest shortfall as a share of the economy since World War II because of massive federal aid for households and businesses.
The U.S. deficit slid to $68 billion last month from a record $864 billion in June, the U.S. Treasury said Wednesday. It was also half as large as the $120 billion budget gap in the same month a year earlier.
The sharp decline largely reflected an expected spike in tax receipts as well as somewhat smaller spending on coronavirus relief. The government allowed businesses and individuals to delay until July tax payments normally due in April, part of a series of measures meant to blunt the damage to the economy from the virus.