From Barron's, April 10:
The gap between federal revenue and government spending widened to more than $1.3 trillion in the first half of the fiscal year, driven by record amount of spending on the public debt.
Data disclosed Thursday by the Treasury Department showed a deficit of $1.307 trillion for October through March, the first six months of fiscal 2025. This was the second highest fiscal year-to-date deficit the U.S. has ever seen. Only the deficit of $1.706 trillion in the first half of fiscal 2021 was larger.
In the comparable period of fiscal 2024, the deficit was a little over a trillion on an unadjusted basis. On an adjusted basis, accounting for calendar-related shifts in spending, the deficit was $1.14 trillion.
One of the drivers of the deficit in the fiscal year was all-time high interest paid on the public debt at $582 billion, up $60 billion from the comparable year-ago period. The last record was made in fiscal 2024.
Treasury officials said that the weighted average interest rate on the debt has been constant at 3.28% over the past four months—and barely different than the 3.30% seen in October and November. Rising amounts of debt mean interest payments are also rising....
....MUCH MORE
Here's the Monthly Treasury Statement (40 page PDF)
