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A view from the United States Department of the Treasury building in Washington DC, United States on December 30, 2024. The US Treasury Department was cyberattacked by a Chinese state-sponsored actor in early December.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Celal Gunes | Anadolu | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The federal budget sank further into red ink during December, leaving the first fiscal quarter deficit nearly 40% higher than it was the prior year.<\/p>\n
For the final calendar month of 2024, the shortfall totaled $86.7 billion, which actually represented a 33% decline for the same period a year prior, according to a Treasury Department report Tuesday. However, that brought the three-month fiscal year total to $710.9 billion, some $200 billion more than the comparable period in the prior year, or 39.4%.<\/p>\n
Rising financing costs along with continued spending growth and declining tax receipts have combined to send deficits spiraling, pushing the national debt past the $36 trillion mark.<\/p>\n
Though short-term Treasury yields have held fairly steady over the past month, rates at the far end of the duration curve have surged. The benchmark 10-year note most recently yielded close to 4.8%, or about 0.4 percentage point above where it was a month ago.<\/p>\n
At the same time, outlays during the first quarter were 11% higher than a year ago while receipts fell by 2%.<\/p>\n
Interest on the national debt has totaled $308.4 billion in fiscal 2025, up 7% from a year ago. Financing costs are projected to top $1.2 trillion for the full year, which would surpass 2024’s record.<\/p>\n
The government this year has spent more on interest payments than any other category but Social Security, defense and health care.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n