Business

US current account deficit widens to $137.3B

By Martin Crutsinger
Published June 14, 2012 1:24pm ET
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US current account deficit widens to $137.3B
FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012 photo, trucks transport containers at a port in Tianjin, China. The U.S. current account trade deficit widened in the first three months to the largest imbalance since late 2008, reflecting a big increase in imports in oil, cars and machinery and a drop in U.S. earnings on overseas investments. The Commerce Department says the deficit in the current account, the broadest measure of trade, jumped 15.7 percent to $137.3 billion, up from $118.7 billion in the final three months of last year. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan, File) | Alexander F. Yuan

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. current account trade deficit grew this winter to its widest imbalance in three years. A big increase in imports of oil, cars and machinery and a drop in U.S. earnings on overseas investments drove the increase.

The deficit in the current account jumped 15.7 percent to $137.3 billion in the January-March quarter. That’s up from $118.7 billion in the final three months of last year, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

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