U.S. April trade gap narrows due to Japan quake (by Greg Robb)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in April as the imports from Japan were curtailed due to the earthquake, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The trade gap narrowed by 6.7% in April to $43.7 billion. The trade deficit was well below the consensus forecast of Wall Street economists of a deficit of $48.0 billion, in part due to annual revisions to the data. The government also revised the deficit in March to $46.8 billion from $48.2 billion. In April, exports rose to a record high while imports fell slightly. Imports from Japan fell by a record amount in April to the lowest level in a year. Imports of autos and auto parts declined sharply. At the same time, the U.S. trade deficit with China continued to grow, widening to $21.6 billion in April compared with $19.3 billion in the same month last year.