White House Revises 2008, 2009 Budget Deficit

The White House revised its 2008 budget deficit forecast to $389 billion from $410 billion earlier in February and its 2009 forecast to $482 billion from $407 billion, far above the all time record of $413 billion seen in 2004.

Economic expansion remains "fundamentally resilient" and the inflation outlook "favourable" provided energy price stabilize, reads the report.

The White House also said it expected real GDP in 2008 to come in at 1.2% while CPI is expected at 3.5%.

The report also cites GDP growth for 2009 and 2010 at 2.9% and 2.2% respectively while CPI is expected to come in at 2.2% for both years.

The unemployment rate is expected to come in at 5.3% in 2008, after which it should rise to 5.6% in 2009 before returning to 5.3% in 2008.

The figures were consistent with those reported by news sources citing government officials throughout Monday morning, prior to the official release.

By Erik Kevin Franco and edited by Cristina Markham