WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) – The U.S. government posted a lower $173 billion deficit in November as tariffs on imports helped to boost revenues, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.
The deficit last month was down $193 billion, or 53%, from the $367 billion deficit reported in November 2024.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the budget deficit at $205 billion. The shortfall in the first two months of fiscal 2026 totaled $458 billion compared to $624 billion in the same period in fiscal 2025.
Outlays for November totaled $509 billion, down from $669 billion in November 2024. A Treasury official said this was in part due to delays in payments following the recently ended 43-day shutdown of the government.
Receipts for November amounted to $336 billion, a record for the month, compared to the $302 billion collected during the same month in 2024. Revenues were lifted by customs duties, which amounted to $30.76 billion. Customs duties totaled $62.11 billion in the first two months of fiscal 2026.
President Donald Trump has imposed sweeping duties on imports, but also struck deals with trade partners that have reduced tariffs.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office last month cut its estimate for how much Trump’s tariffs would reduce U.S. budget deficits over the next decade by 25% to $3 trillion, including interest costs, from the $4 trillion the agency projected in August.
(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
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