WASHINGTON, July 28: The White House has revised up its estimate of the budget deficit for next fiscal year to a record $490 billion, a senior administration official said on Monday.

The official meanwhile revised downward to under $400 billion the administration’s calculation of the deficit for the current fiscal year, which ends September 30.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino declined to comment on the budget figures but said an upward revision had been expected due to an economic stimulus package adopted earlier.

“I remember, back then, when we talked about the stimulus package, both parties recognised that the deficit would increase and that was going to be the price that we pay in order to help improve the economy,” she told reporters.

But she said the administration still stood by its goal of achieving a balanced budget by 2012. “We hope to pull out of this economic downturn over the next few months because of the stimulus package,” she added.—AFP