The U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, DC, United States, Tuesday, August 15, 2023.
Nathan Howard | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The U.S. Treasury Department reported on Wednesday that the U.S. budget deficit increased significantly in November, and the budget deficit for fiscal year 2025 has exceeded $1.8 trillion a year ago.
The deficit this month totaled $366.8 billion, 17% higher than in November 2023, and the unadjusted deficit in the first two months of the fiscal year totaled more than 64% higher than the same period last year.
The revenue growth came despite total revenue of $301.8 billion, an increase of about $27 billion from last November. Spending totaled $668.5 billion, nearly $80 billion more than a year ago.
By the end of the month, the deficit had increased, bringing the national debt to $36.1 trillion.
The adjusted deficit was $286 billion, totaling $544 billion year to date, an increase of 19%.
Although the Fed has cut interest rates twice since September, totaling three-quarters of a percentage point, interest payments remain a major contributor to the deficit. Net interest expense totaled $79 billion for the month and $160 billion for the fiscal year, exceeding all other spending except Social Security, Medicare, defense and health care.
The Treasury Department expects to pay $1.2 trillion in debt interest this year.
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