US deficit could quadruple to record US$3.7tril

House of Representatives Democrats already are crafting a new coronavirus aid bill. Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday warned it will be "expensive."

WASHINGTON: A nationwide business shutdown and surge in U.S. government spending will nearly quadruple the federal deficit to a record US$3.7 trillion this fiscal year as the country combats the coronavirus pandemic, congressional forecasters said on Friday.

U.S. gross domestic product will plunge by nearly 40% on an annualized basis in the second quarter, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. But the CBO forecast an economic resurgence in the second half of the year, and said unemployment would crest at 16% but remain in double digits throughout 2021.