US trade deficit grows to 63.4 billion dollars

The US trade deficit widened 2.5 percent in April to 63.4 billion dollars as imports of oil and cheap goods from China rose, the government said.
The US trade performance was better than expected by economists, who had predicted an April figure of 65.0 billion dollars. The March deficit came to a revised 61.9 billion dollars.

The rise came after two consecutive months of falls, and left the deficit at its highest level since the start of the year.
April imports rose 1.3 billion dollars from March to 177.8 billion, while exports fell 0.3 billion to 115.9 billion, the Commerce Department said.

The deterioration was largely owing to a 1.44-billion-dollar increase in the US bill for imported oil, which rose to 23.8 billion dollars during a month when crude prices hit new records over 75 dollars a barrel.

The deficit with China widened 9.0 percent to 17.0 billion dollars as the US economy sucked in more imports of apparel, toys and household electronics.

The US trade gap with Canada, a major oil exporter, jumped 15 percent to 6.1 billion dollars and with Japan, it rose 2.6 percent to 7.8 billion dollars. But the US deficit with the European Union shrank 7.0 percent to 9.4 billion.

SOURCE: AFP