US Current-Account Gap Widened in First Quarter

The <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />U.S. trade deficit in current account rose to 109 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2010, the highest point in more than a year, said the U.S. Commerce Department on June 17.

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Exports in the first three months grew by 5.3 percent due to the pick-up of world economy; however, the figure was dragged by a 6 percent climb in imports, which was pushed up sharply by high oil price.

In 2009, the current deficit narrowed to 378.4 billion U.S. dollars, down 43.4 percent from the 2008 deficit of 668.9 billion U.S. dollars plagued by the global financial crisis.

The figure, predicted by economists, would be widened in 2010 pushed by the economic rebounding.