WASHINGTON, D.C. ? The federal deficit through July is running well below last year’s pace, helped by strong growth in revenues, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.

Through the first 10 months of this budget year, the deficit totaled $239.7 billion, an improvement of 20.8 percent from the same period a year ago, when it was $302.8 billion.

The deficit in July totaled $33.2 billion, down sharply from an imbalance of $53.4 billion in July 2005.