10.19.26 - U.S. budget deficit up 12% in a single year

10.19.26 - U.S. budget deficit up 12% in a single year

Gold last traded at $4,139 an ounce. Silver at $57.07 an ounce.

U.S. budget deficit swells to almost $2 trillion for fiscal 2026, up 12% in a single year -CNBC

The U.S. finished the 2026 fiscal year with a budget deficit of nearly $2 trillion, the latest measurement to underscore the extent of the country's financial stress.

The $1.992 trillion figure was about 12% higher than the $1.775 trillion deficit in the prior fiscal year, the Treasury Department reported Friday.

It’s the third-highest annual deficit in U.S. history, behind only 2020 and 2021, when the federal government was doling out trillions of dollars in financial stimulus amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2026 fiscal year saw record sums for both receipts and outlays, according to a Treasury Department official.

With Friday's release, the U.S. officially recorded its 25th straight fiscal year operating at a deficit. The government last recorded a surplus - meaning its revenues were larger than debts - in 2001.

Friday's report offers fresh evidence of how the U.S.'s fast-growing debt pile has dragged on the nation's overall financial health. The rising debt bill has helped exacerbate angst among bond traders, who sent the 10-year and 30-year U.S. Treasury yields to 24-year highs last week.