The US trade deficit widened less than expected in April to $57.0 billion as both exports and imports set records, the Commerce Department said today.
The monthly trade gap expanded 6.3 per cent from March but was below the median forecast of $58 billion from a group of 35 economists surveyed before the report.
The Commerce Department also lowered its estimate of the March trade gap to $53.6 billion, from $55.0 previously. The better-than-expected figures for both March and April gave a boost to stock futures and pushed the dollar higher.
"The trade numbers are a little more moderate. The rate of deterioration is slowing. That's good news for the economy. It's being less of a drag," said Dana Johnson, chief economist with Comerica Bank in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Despite the monthly improvement, the deficit remained on track to surpass last year's record of $618 billion.
The gap for the first four months of the year was up 22 per cent from the same period in 2004.
Surging oil prices helped push overall imports up 4.1 per cent from March to a record $163.4 billion, the largest monthly increase since November 2002.
Imports from Opec countries were a record $9.8 billion. The average price for imported oil in April was a record $44.76 per barrel.
US exports rose 3.0 per cent to a record $106.4 billion, aided by an increase in exports of civilian aircraft and other capital goods.
Shipments to China and South and Central America also set records at $3.4 billion and $6.1 billion, respectively.