US budget deficit surges to $134.5 billion in October

The federal government began the new budget year with a deficit in October 33.8% larger than a year earlier.

That was after ending the 2019 budget year with the highest deficit in seven years.

The Treasury Department says the deficit last month totaled $134.5 billion, up from a shortfall in October 2018 of $100.5 billion.

The government ran up a deficit of $984.4 billion for the 2019 budget year, which ended Sept. 30, 26% larger than in 2018.

The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting that the deficit for 2020 will hit $1 trillion and will remain over $1 trillion for the next decade. The country has not experienced $1 trillion annual deficits since 2009 through 2012 following the 2008 financial crisis.