Deficit to Fall to $514 Billion, U.S. Budget Agency Says

The U.S. budget deficit will fall to a seven-year low as a share of the economy, driven downward by stronger economic growth that has boosted tax revenue and helped contain spending, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The fiscal 2014 deficit will narrow to $514 billion, or 3 percent of gross domestic product, from $680 billion last year, the CBO said today in Washington. The projected gap is down from 9.8 percent of GDP in 2009, the widest in records dating back to 1974, and is close to the average of the past four decades, the agency said. The budget was in surplus from 1998 to 2001.