The U.S. federal budget deficit was slightly smaller through the first five months of the fiscal year than the previous year, but the imbalance is on pace to surpass $1 trillion for the fourth consecutive year. The Treasury Department said Monday that the deficit grew by $232 billion in February, increasing the imbalance through the first five months of the fiscal year to $581 billion, or 9 percent below the same period in fiscal-year 2011. The Obama administration expects the budget deficit will reach $1.3 trillion when the fiscal year ends on September 30. That would nearly match last year's imbalance. The government ran a record-high deficit of $1.41 trillion in 2009 and a $1.29 trillion deficit in 2010.
