The government always has a surplus in April. Always. That is when the tax returns are due and people pay their tax bills. There is nothing new or unique about this.
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True, but the article says a deficit was expected, so this is a big difference. Year to year comparisons for the same month can also be informative.
Agreed. I thought that was odd. I think the article pointed out the surplus in April 2017 was a bit higher than April 2016.