Washington, DC, May 12, 2006--The trade deficit narrowed by 5.6% in March to $62.0 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. This is the lowest trade gap since last August and the first two-month decline in the deficit since late 2003.
The narrowing of the trade deficit was unexpected. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for the deficit to widen to $66.9 billion.
Exports rose to a new record while imports inched lower in March.
The U.S. trade deficit with China widened to $15.6 billion in compared with $12.9 billion in the same month last year
