Budget deficit widens even as receipts grow

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The budget gap widened to $60 billion in June from $43 billion a year earlier, even as revenues for the month reached a five-year high, the Treasury Department said on Thursday.

While the Treasury pulled in $260 billion in receipts in June -- the highest level for June since 2007 -- government outlays rose to $320 billion from $293 billion a year ago.

The Treasury said the increase in government spending reflected the shift of $35 billion in July benefit payments into June because July 1 fell on a Sunday.

Economists had expected a June shortfall of $75 billion, although the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said on Monday it would likely come in about $60 billion.

For the first nine months of fiscal 2012, the government's budget gap totaled $904 billion, $67 billion below the corresponding year-ago deficit, the Treasury Department said.

Still, the deficit is on track to exceed $1 trillion for the fourth straight year, a statistic Republicans frequently use to accuse the Obama administration of overspending.

The Treasury reaffirmed its forecast that the United States would reach its $16.4 trillion debt limit, or the amount it is legally allowed to borrow, before the end of the year.

(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Kenneth Barry)