国际英语新闻：U.S. federal budget deficit hits $120.3 bln in November

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. federal budget deficit totaled 120.3 billion dollars in November, reported the Treasury Department on Thursday.

    The deficit was less than analysts' expectation and down from a 176.4-billion imbalance in October.

    But the red ink of the first two months of fiscal year 2010 beginning from October 2009 is 5.7 percent higher than the same period of fiscal year 2009, when the annual deficit hit a record 1.42 trillion dollars. The Obama administration expects the 2010 deficit will set a new record at 1.5 trillion dollars.

    Economists worry the fiscal imbalance could push interest rates higher and raise the cost of borrowing for consumers and businesses, a potential drag on the fragile economic recovery.

    The soaring U.S. federal budget has caused widely international concerns. U.S. debt holders worry that the U.S. government has no better way to get out of the debt dilemma but to devalue its currency.

    The Federal Reserve has kept the interest rate at the historical low of zero level since December 2008 to tackle the economic recession. Economists do not expect the Fed to increase the rates until next year.