WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government posted a $53 billion budget deficit in May, a 38 percent drop from the same month last year, the Treasury Department said on Friday.
The government had a deficit of $84 billion in May of 2015, according to the Treasury's monthly budget statement.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a $60 billion deficit for last month.
However, when accounting for calendar adjustments, May would have shown a $102 billion deficit compared with an adjusted $84 billion deficit a year prior.
The current fiscal year-to-date deficit was $407 billion, up 11 percent from a $367 billion deficit at this time last year.
On an adjusted basis, the fiscal year-to-date gap was $413 billion compared with $367 billion at this time last year.
Receipts last month totaled $225 billion, a 6 percent increase from May 2015, while outlays stood at $277 billion, a 7 percent decline from the same month a year ago.