Budget deficit climbs on COVID spending

The U.S. budget deficit rose to $2.71 trillion through August, on track to be the second largest shortfall in history due to trillions of dollars in COVID relief.

In its monthly budget report, the Treasury Department said Monday that the deficit for the first 11 months of this budget year is 9.9% less than the imbalance during the same period last year.

For the entire budget year, which ends Sept. 30, the Congressional Budget Office is forecasting a deficit of $3 trillion, which would be just below the record deficit of $3.13 trillion set last year.