US budget deficit grew slightly in 4 months of FY 2015: CBO

The Congressional Budget Office on Friday forecast a USD 195 billion US budget deficit for the first four months of the current fiscal year, up from USD 183 billion in the same period last year.

The CBO said the USD 12 billion increase in the budget gap for the October-January period was largely driven by lower payments to the US Treasury this year from government-controlled mortgage finance groups Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac .

Both total receipts and total outlays for the four-month period were up by about 8 percent over the prior year, the non-partisan budget agency said.

The CBO said it estimated a January 2015 deficit of USD 19 billion, nearly double the USD 10 billion deficit a year earlier as spending increased for the Social Security and Medicaid benefit programs for older Americans. Spending also rose for student loans, international assistance and health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, the CBO said.