U.S. Trade Deficit Widens To Record High In March

The U.S. trade deficit widened by 5.6 percent to a record high of 74.4 billion U.S. dollars in March as the gain in imports outpaced exports, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th May, 2021 ) :The U.S. trade deficit widened by 5.6 percent to a record high of 74.4 billion U.S. Dollars in March as the gain in imports outpaced exports, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday.

U.S. exports rose by 6.6 percent to 200 billion dollars in March while imports increased by 6.3 percent to 274.5 billion dollars, according to the department.

"The United States is leading the way in vaccinations and stimulus support to households and businesses, and this continues to be reflected in stronger import growth," Jay Bryson and Shannon Seery, economists at Wells Fargo Securities, said Tuesday in an analysis.

The economists noted that current weakness in exports reflects anemic growth in many of America's major trading partners, which generally are lagging the United States in vaccinations.

"As vaccinations gain more momentum abroad and the global recovery gains pace, trade should begin to normalize. Export growth should begin to rival import growth, which will remain supported by a surge in domestic consumer and business demand," they said.

Despite the widening of the trade deficit, the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 6.4 percent in the first quarter of the year amid COVID-19 vaccination progress and strong fiscal support.

The U.S. government has provided nearly 6 trillion dollars in pandemic relief over the past year, including a 1.9-trillion-dollar relief package enacted in March.