Budget deficit may fall by US$60b as revenue jumps

Washington

THE US budget deficit is likely to fall by US$60 billion in 2015 due to strong revenue gains, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said on Tuesday, adding that the government may be able to pay its bills without a debt limit hike through early December.

The CBO said it now estimates a US$426 billion deficit for fiscal year 2015, down from its US$486 billion forecast made in March. It also forecast a fiscal 2016 deficit of US$414 billion, a reduction of US$41 billion.

The gradually shrinking deficits may temper some demands in Congress for deeper spending cuts or weaken resistance to lifting the "sequester" spending caps on discretionary programmes as lawmakers consider spending legislation for the 2016 fiscal year whi…