Washington, DC, June 9, 2006--The high cost of imported oil helped push up the U.S. trade gap in April, a government report showed Friday. The nation's trade deficit widened 2.5% to $63.4 billion, the Commerce Department said.
The widening of the trade gap was less than expected. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economist had been for the deficit to widen to $64.8 billion.
Economists see no end to the large trade deficits and say the recent weakening of the dollar has had no effect.
The deficit in March was revised slightly lower to $61.9 billion from the initial estimate of $63.4 billion. It is the lowest deficit since last August.
April's trade gap was boosted by the high price of oil. The April import average price per barrel of crude oil rose to $56.82 in April, the second highest on record.
