U.S. Economy: Trade Deficit Widens More Than Forecast - by Joe Richter
The U.S. trade deficit widened more than forecast in March as higher oil shipments drove the biggest increase in imports in more than four years. The deficit rose 10.4 percent to $63.9 billion, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Imports and exports were the second highest on record. Climbing fuel costs also pushed the price of foreign goods higher for a third month in April, the Labor Department reported separately. Through the first three months of the year, the deficit with China climbed to $57 billion, up from $47.3 in the same period last year and accounting for almost a third of the overall gap.
Economists at Morgan Stanley forecast revised figures will show the economy grew 0.9 percent in the first three months of the year, compared with the government's advance estimate of 1.3 percent issued last month. The trade deficit with the European Union widened to $7.7 billion from $6.4 billion.
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