US budget: Larger-than-usual $214.3bn surplus in April - Nomura

The US government posted a larger-than-usual $214.3bn surplus in April, partly due to timing shifts of certain payments, notes the research team at Nomura.

Key Quotes

“April’s surplus brings the FY-to-date deficit to $385bn, $41bn larger than this time last year. Receipts increased 12.0% y-o-y while outlays increased 8.4%. CBO reported that receipts in April were $30-40bn larger than the agency had expected when it released its updated budget/economic outlook on 9 April, partly due to stronger income growth in 2017. Thus, based on the FY performance so far, there is a possibility of an overall narrower budget deficit for FY18 relative to our forecast of $804bn.”