U.S. Racks Up $1.2T Deficit in First 11 Months of FY2011

The United States racked up a $134.15 billion budget deficit in August, the U.S. Treasury said Tuesday, marking a sharp increase from a year earlier that was due mainly to calendar shifts of payments and one-time adjustments in the August 2010 period.

The cumulative deficit for the first 11 months of fiscal 2011, which ends on Sept. 30, came to $1.234 trillion, down slightly from $1.260 trillion in the same period of fiscal 2010.

The White House on Sept. 1 forecast the federal deficit at $1.316 trillion for fiscal 2011, compared to an actual fiscal 2010 deficit of $1.293 trillion. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Neil Stempleman)