Federal deficit still looking set to come in well under $26bn

The federal deficit was $0.6 bn in December 2012, up slightly from the $0.5 bn recorded in December 2011, the Finance Department revealed today. Still, red ink accumulated since the beginning of the fiscal year, in April, amounted to $13 bn, below the $16.1 registered over the same period in 2011-2012.

Stephen Gordon noted a couple of weeks ago how the monthly deficit data available until then were difficult to square with the government’s estimate of a $26 bn deficit by fiscal year-end. April-to-November spending and revenue patterns, he wrote, would indicate the overall deficit for 2012-2013 will be considerably lower.

Today’s December data show very much the same picture.