WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government recorded a $108 billion deficit in August, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.
That compared with a budget deficit of $107 billion the same month one year earlier, according to Treasury's monthly budget statement.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the Treasury reporting a $119.5 billion deficit last month.
When accounting for calendar adjustments, the deficit last month was $97 billion compared with an adjusted deficit of $107 billion the prior year.
The deficit for the fiscal year to date was $674 billion, compared to $619 billion in the same period of fiscal 2016. On an adjusted basis, the fiscal-year-to-date deficit was $705 billion last month versus $619 billion in the year-earlier period.
Receipts last month totaled $226 billion, down 2 percent from one year ago, while outlays were $334 billion, a 1 percent decline from the same month a year earlier.
The decision last week by Congress to suspend the nation's debt limit through Dec. 8 eased pressure on the Treasury, which had been due to exhaust its borrowing capacity around the end of September.
Due to Treasury's ability to use emergency cash measures, the vote effectively suspended the issue until at least spring 2018.