US deficit up 15.7% in first half of fiscal 2011

US deficit up 15.7 % in the first 6 months of fiscal 2011
US Treasury Building © AFP/File Karen Bleier

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US budget deficit shot up 15.7 percent in the first six months of fiscal 2011, the Treasury Department said Wednesday as political knives were being sharpened for a new budget battle.

The Treasury reported a deficit of $829 billion for the October-March period, compared with $717 billion a year earlier, as revenue rose a sluggish 6.9 percent as the economic recovery slowly gained pace.

The Treasury argued that the pace of increase in the deficit was deceptive because of large one-off reductions in expenditures made during the first half of fiscal 2010, compared with previous and subsequent periods.