The prior month showed a surplus of $214.3B (but that was tax collection month).
The US budget statement for May shows a deficit of -146.8 billion versus expectations of -139.5 billion.
- Last month there was a surplus of $214.255B, but that was a tax collection month. It nevertheless compared favourably to the April 2017 surplus of $182.428.
- For May, the deficit this month is much higher than the deficit from May 2017 of -88.423B
- US fiscal 2018 year-to-date deficit comes in at -$532B vs comparable fiscal 2017 at -433B
- US May budget outlays totaled $364 billion vs $329 billion in May 2017. The receipts totaled $217 billion versus $240 billion in May 2017.
The deficit going forward will be eyed especially following the tax cuts. The Trump administration is hoping for increased growth to lead to increased tax receipts despite the tax cuts. Others feel that the deficit will balloon. It is still too early to tell, but the numbers this month (and this year) are not looking too great (lower receipts vs 2017)
