U.S. posts $50.7 bln June budget surplus

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government turned in a $50.7 billion budget surplus for June, beating expectations, but the deficit for the year-to-date was the third highest on record, the Treasury said on Friday.

The June surplus compared to a Wall Street forecast for $27.5 billion surplus and was up from $27.5 billion surplus for the same period a year ago.

Through the first nine months of the fiscal year the deficit was $268.7 billion. This deficit was the third largest on record and the biggest since $327 billion in fiscal year 2004, the department said.

June outlays fell to $209.2 billion from $249 billion for the same period a year ago, while June receipts dropped to $259.9 billion from $276.5 billion in June 2007.

(Reporting by Alister Bull and Nancy Waitz; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)