The U.S. federal budget deficit increased by $191 billion in August, topping $1 trillion for the fourth straight year.

The Treasury Department says the deficit for the first 11 months of the 2012 budget year, which ends Sept. 30, totaled $1.16 trillion. That's 6 percent less than the same period last year. Tax receipts are higher because of modest improvements in the economy.

Thursday's announcement means that President Barack Obama has run trillion-dollar deficits each year in office. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has criticized Obama for failing to cut the deficit in half, as Obama pledged to do in early 2009.

The White House in July forecast that the budget gap will total $1.2 trillion this year, down from $1.3 trillion last year.