Washington, DC, June 10--The trade deficit widened 6.3% to $57.0 billion in April, according to the Commerce Department. The gap, despite record exports, was the largest increase since last October.
The widening of the trade deficit matched the economists’ forecasts.
So far in 2005, the trade deficit -- the difference between imports and exports -- is up 12.6% from the pace a year ago. The U.S. trade gap was a record $617.58 billion in 2004.
The trade gap in March was revised down to $53.6 billion, compared with the initial estimate of $55.0 billion.
U.S. producers sold a record amount of goods overseas in April, but on the flip side, U.S. consumers and businesses bought a record amount of imported goods.
Exports rose 3.0% to a record $106.4 billion in April.
Imports rose 4.1% to a record $163.4 billion, mostly as a result of record crude oil prices.
Imports of goods alone rose 4.8% to $136.7 billion. U.S. businesses bought a record amount of industrial supplies- mostly petroleum- and capital goods. The U.S. imported $19.4 billion of crude oil in April, the second highest amount on record.
Consumer good imports rose 7.6% to $31.90 billion.
Exports of goods alone rose 4.2% to $74.5 billion. U.S. farmers sold a record amount of their goods overseas in April. Exports of civilian aircraft also rose 40.8% to $3.21 billion.
The average price per barrel of oil jumped $3.62 to a record $44.76 in April.
The U.S. imported 313.8 million barrels of crude oil in April, or 10.46 million barrels per day, down from 326 million or 10.52 million barrels, in March.
The U.S. trade deficit with China widened to $14.7 billion in April compared with $12.0 billion in the same month last year. Imports of Chinese textiles, a contentious political issue this year as global quotas on textile products have ended, are up 51.7% year to date, the department said.
