Pro-Obama Super PAC raised $6 million in June

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally at Phoebus High School in Hampton, Virginia, July 13, 2012.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The "Super PAC" working to re-elect U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday it had raised $6.1 million in June, in a further improvement after a bad start in the race for cash ahead of the November 6 election.

The group, Priorities USA Action, raised $4 million in May when it first started to narrow the fundraising gap with its chief rival group, Restore Our Future, which supports Obama's Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

The pro-Obama's group's June haul has now topped the $5 million its rival pulled in during May, the latest report available for the Republican "super" political action committee.

Democrats have struggled to catch up to Republicans in the Super PAC game, largely thanks to the Democratic Party's objections to unrestrained fundraising and spending allowed for the groups, which often fund negative ads.

Now the advertising and promotion funded by Priorities may be especially crucial as Obama's own early cash advantage is quickly eroding in light of Romney's fundraising prowess.

In June, for the second month in a row, Romney and the Republican National Committee outraised the president and his party allies by a large margin.

Obama's early start still leaves him ahead of his Republican rival - his total haul stands at $552.5 million, compared to Romney's $394.9 million - but Romney has drilled deep into Wall Street and the wealthy, who are disgruntled by what they see as Obama's anti-business rhetoric and policies.

Restore Our Future has not revealed its June numbers.

Official disclosures from both groups are due out July 20.

An FEC filing on Friday, however, showed part of Priorities' cash in June came from Hollywood billionaire Haim Saban, who gave $1 million to a joint fund which Priorities shares with the House Majority PAC helping Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives and the Senate-focused Majority PAC.

(Additional reporting by Alexander Cohen; editing by Todd Eastham)