U.S. starts fiscal 2010 with $176.36 bln Oct gap

WASHINGTON Nov 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. government began fiscal 2010 with a record shortfall for the month of October, right after posting a record $1.4 trillion budget gap for all of the 2009 budget year, the Treasury Department said on Thursday.

The department, in its monthly budget statement, reported a $176.36 billion budget gap in October, which was the fifth largest deficit for any month. That exceeded both Wall Street analysts' expectations for $150 billion deficit, and the October 2008 deficit of $155.5 billion.

The report for October pointed to a growing gap between government spending and income at a time when a fragile economy is beginning to emerge from the steepest recession in 70 years.

The federal budget year starts on Oct. 1. (Reporting by Nancy Waitz; Editing by Neil Stempleman)