The United States recorded a $165.04 billion budget deficit in July, nearly 9 percent below the monthly deficit a year ago as government spending on economic stimulus faded from peak levels, the Treasury Department said Wednesday. In the first 10 months of the government's fiscal year, which ends September 30, the shortfall between the government's income from taxes and its spending totaled $1.169 trillion, down slightly from 2009's record 10-month deficit of $1.267 trillion. July's budget imbalance was the 22nd consecutive month of deficits for the U.S. government, the longest streak on record, and was attributed to high spending aimed at moving the economy out of a prolonged slump in addition to weak tax revenues because of the slump.
