U.S. Budget Deficit Jumps to $100 Billion at Start of Fiscal Year

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. recorded a $100.5 billion budget deficit in October, an increase of about 60 percent from a year earlier, as spending grew twice as fast as revenue.

The deficit widened from $63.2 billion in the same month last year, the department said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. October marks the start of the U.S. fiscal year.

Receipts totaled $252.7 billion last month, up 7 percent from a year earlier, while outlays climbed 18 percent to $353.2 billion, according to the department.

A ballooning U.S. budget shortfall -- fueled by tax cuts, spending hikes and an aging population -- is driving the Treasury Department to raise its long-term debt issuance. Waning support for U.S. government debt from the Fed, combined with President Donald Trump's deficit-boosting tax cuts, are weighing on the debt load that he inherited from Barack Obama.

In Trump's first full fiscal year that ended in September, the budget gap grew to $779 billion, the highest level since 2012.

--With assistance from Liz Capo McCormick.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah McGregor in Washington at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.