US goods trade deficit widens in March

[WASHINGTON] The United States' trade deficit in goods surged in March, suggesting trade was likely a drag on economic growth in the first quarter, but that was probably offset by strong domestic demand amid massive fiscal stimulus and easing pandemic stress.

The goods trade deficit jumped 4.0 per cent to US$90.6 billion last month, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.

The report was published ahead of Thursday's advance first-quarter gross domestic product data, which is expected to show the economy grew at a robust 6.1 per cent annualised rate in the first three months of the year after expanding at a 4.3 per cent pace in the fourth quarter, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

REUTERS