U.S. government posts $378 billion deficit in March

(Reuters) – The U.S. government recorded a $378-billion budget deficit in March as outlays outpaced revenues, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

That compared to a budget deficit of $193 billion in the same month last year, according to the Treasury’s monthly budget statement. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a $302 billion deficit for the month.

The March deficit brought the year-to-date fiscal deficit to $1.1 trillion, up 65% from a year earlier. The biggest drivers of deficits this year, according to Treasury data, have been higher individual tax refunds as the Internal Revenue Service works through a substantial backlog of unprocessed returns amassed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and lower Federal Reserve earnings.

When adjusted for calendar effects, the deficit for March was $305 billion compared with an adjusted deficit of $187 billion in March 2022. That was attributable to the start of April falling on a weekend, which caused benefit payments to be paid out on March 31 instead.

Unadjusted receipts last month totaled $313 billion, down 1% from $315 billion in March 2022, while unadjusted outlays were $691 billion, an increase of 36% from the same month a year earlier.

(Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Nick Zieminski)