Published January 8, 2016 3:08pm EST | Updated January 8, 2016 6:05pm EST

U.S. December Budget Deficit Was $11 Billion, CBO Says

The federal government ran a budget deficit of $11 billion in December, the Congressional Budget Office estimated on Friday. The government would have run a surplus of $34 billion in December, if not for the shifts in timing of certain payments from January into December, the CBO said. For the fiscal year to date, the deficit has widened by $36 billion to $212 billion. For the first three months of the fiscal year, receipts are up by 4% and spending has risen 7%. The government's budget year runs from October through September.