Trade deficit explodes to 6-year high

Washington

THE US trade deficit widened in March to the highest level in more than six years, fuelled by a record surge in imports as commercial activity resumed at West Coast ports following a resolution to labour disputes.

The gap increased 43.1 per cent, the biggest jump in 18 years, to US$51.4 billion, the largest since October 2008, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday in Washington. Purchases of foreign-produced foods, capital goods and consumer products all set records, while demand for petroleum dropped.

Container ships streamed into West Coast harbours in March after port operators and dockworkers negotiated a new contract, allowing the flow of imported and exported goods to resume. At the…