US deficit nears 90 per cent of GDP at $13 trillion

The US national debt (or deficit) crossed $13 trillion (13,050,826,460,886.97) for first time on 1 June 2010, official data released by the Treasury Department showed.

US deficit has increased by around $1.6 trillion in the last year and nearly tripled in the last 10 years and now stands at 89.4 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

US national debt has increased by nearly $2.4 trillion since Obama took office in January 2009 and was up $4.9 trillion in the eight year-term of President George W Bush.

The US Treasury also reported official reserve assets of $124.18 billion

The spike in the national debt has also been in major part driven by increased government spending to stave-off economic crisis that followed the financial market melt-down.

Speaking at the Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, President Barrack Obama attributed the soaring deficit to increased public spending and the economic stimulus action in the wake of the financial market turmoil.