US budget gap narrows in Nov from year ago

WASHINGTON, DEC 12 (Reuters): The US government budget deficit fell 9 per cent in November to $137.30 billion from a year-earlier level of $150.39 billion, the Treasury Department reported Monday. The monthly US budget deficit, while still high by historical standards, was slightly below the $139 billion gap that economists had forecast. Federal spending was lower and tax receipts were slightly higher last month than in November 2010, the Treasury data showed. The cumulative deficit for the fiscal year that began in October stands at $235.77 billion compared with a $290.83 billion in the same period last year. Spending has been somewhat lower in the current fiscal year partly because some government payments normally made in October were shifted into September. In fiscal 2011, which ended Sept. 30, the budget deficit totaled $1.296 trillion, the third straight year the US shortfall surpassed $1 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office expects the deficit to narrow only marginally in the current fiscal year. The burgeoning US debt load has become a hot-button political topic heading into elections next year.