US budget deficit totals $107.1 billion in August

The federal government recorded a deficit of $107.1 billion in August, slightly lower than the July deficit. But the imbalance through 11 months of this budget year is up sharply from a year ago, reflecting higher spending and lower-than-expected tax revenues.

The Treasury Department says the deficit, with just one month to go in the budget year, totals $620.8 billion, up 17.1 percent from the same period a year ago. The August deficit was slightly lower than the $112.8 billion imbalance in July.

The Congressional Budget Office last month revised its estimate for the 2016 deficit up sharply to show an imbalance of $590 billion. That was up from a March projection of $534 billion. The budget year ends on Sept. 30 and September is expected to show a surplus.