US federal budget deficit shrinks

Washington: The US federal government budget deficit decreased in August, providing fresh confidence that the country is poised to meet its deficit cuts goal.

The budget deficit stood at $64.4 billion in August, 50 percent less than the amount recorded a year ago Xinhua quoted the US Treasury Department as saying on Friday.

In the first eleven months of the fiscal year 2015, which started last October and ends in September this year, the deficit is running ten percent below last year`s level.

Last week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted that the budget deficit in the 2015 fiscal year will total $425 billion, down more than 12 percent from its earlier forecast of $486 billion.