(Reuters) – The U.S. trade deficit widened in April as a jump in imports outpaced a slight increase in exports.
The trade deficit increased 8.7% to $74.6 billion, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Thursday. Data for March was revised to show the trade gap narrowing slightly to $68.6 billion instead of the $69.4 billion as previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the deficit would rise to $76.1 billion in April.
The economy grew at a 1.3% annualized rate last quarter after expanding at a 3.4% pace in the October-December period.
Imports rose 2.4% to $338.2 billion in April. Goods imports rose $8.1 billion to $271.9 billion. There were increases in imports of motor vehicles and parts and capital goods such as computer accessories and telecommunications equipments, as well as industrial supplies and materials, which include crude oil.
Services imports edged down $0.1 billion to $66.3 billion.
Exports edged up 0.8% to $263.7 billion. Goods exports increased $2.2 billion to $172.7 billion. There were increases in exports of capital goods and consumer goods, while industrial supplies and materials fell. Exports of services declined $0.2 billion to $172.7 billion.
(Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao)
