The US federal budget deficit totaled 352.6 billion dollars for the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, 19.4 percent below the shortfall for the same period in 2004, the Treasury Department reported Tuesday.

In its monthly budget report, the Treasury also said that the red ink for August stood at 49.98 billion dollars.

The current fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. The Bush administration is expecting a budget surplus for September. The government recorded a surplus of 24.6 billion dollars in September 2004.

That surplus left the total deficit for the 2004 fiscal year at 412.8 billion dollars, an all-time high level in dollar terms.

The administration predicted that total budget deficit for the current fiscal year would decline to 333 billion dollars. The projected figure was lower than the 427 billion dollars the government had forecast last February.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, which is also expecting a budget surplus for September, the shortfall for the current year will be 331 billion dollars.

Source: Xinhua