The US government registered a record budget deficit in February, the 17th consecutive month of running in the red, the Treasury said Wednesday.
The February budget shortfall was 220.909 billion dollars, a 14 percent rise from a year ago and the biggest monthly gap on record.
The reading, however, was slightly better than the consensus analyst forecast of a deficit of 222 billion dollars.
The deepening budget gap was led by a 17 percent jump in government spending, which hit 328.429 billion dollars, a record for the month of February.
The record monthly number came after two consecutive months of shrinking gaps that had left the January gap at 42.6 billion dollars.
