The Treasury Department\'s Bureau of the Fiscal Service released its monthly budget statement on Tuesday, showing the U.S. budget deficit widened significantly in the month of February.
The statement said the budget deficit widened to $296.3 billion in February from $21.9 billion in January. Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $298.0 billion.
The substantial wider budget deficit largely reflected a steep drop by receipts, which plummeted by 43.2 percent to $271.1 billion in February from $477.4 billion in January.
Meanwhile, the statement said outlays surged by 13.7 percent to $567.4 billion in February from $499.3 billion in January.