US budget deficit rose to $149 billion in July

The US Treasury Department says the country’s budget deficit amounted to nearly $150 billion in July.

The Treasury announced on Wednesday that the deficit totaled $149.2 billion, compared with a deficit of $94.6 billion a year ago.

The figure is up 58 percent from the same period last year.

The Treasury said the deterioration stemmed mainly from the fact that August 1 fell on a Saturday.

As a result, the government paid out $42 billion in August benefits in late July instead.

The US budget deficit in 2014 decreased to $483.3 billion from $679.5 billion in 2013.

For the four years before 2013, the deficit was over $1 trillion because of a deep recession.

The huge deficit in the aftermath of the worst recession since the 1930s drove the US national debt higher. It currently stands at 18.1 trillion dollars.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates a deficit of $425 billion for the entire budget year ending on September 30.

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