U.S. June trade gap widens unexpectedly
U.S. June trade gap widens unexpectedly (by Greg Robb)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. trade deficit widened by 4.4% in June to $53.1 billion, the Commerce Department said Thursday. This is the largest deficit in almost three years. The widening of the trade deficit was unexpected. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists polled by MarketWatch was for the deficit to narrow to $48.2 billion. Both imports and exports weakened in June, but exports had a larger decline. The U.S. trade deficit with China widened to $26.7 billion in June, the highest since September 2010. The government also revised the deficit in May to $50.8 billion from $50.2 billion. The June deficit suggests a downward revision to second-quarter GDP growth from the initial estimate of a 1.3% annual rate.