–Unilateral Transfers Gap Slightly Smaller, Income Surplus Higher
By Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – The U.S. current account deficit widened sharply
to $123.3 billion in the second quarter from $109.2 billion in the
previous quarter, with a much wider goods and services gap the main
reason, data released Thursday morning by the Commerce Department
showed.
The goods and services gap widened to $131.6 billion in the second
quarter from $114.5 billion in the previous quarter, a dip of $17.1
billion.
The drop was only partially offset by improvements in the
unilateral transfer gap and the income surplus.
The unilateral transfers gap narrowed slightly to $32.9 billion in
the second quarter from $34.9 billion in the previous quarter. The
income surplus grew to $41.2 billion from $40.1 billion.
The current account stood at 3.4% of GDP in the second quarter, up
from 3.0% in the previous quarter and the largest since the fourth
quarter of 2008.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]
