Current-account deficit widens in US
The second-quarter current-account deficit represented 2.6% of GDP, the largest since the first quarter of 2016
Washington — The US current-account deficit jumped to its highest level since 2008 in the second quarter, amid a decline in both secondary and primary income. The commerce department said on Tuesday that the current-account deficit, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country, increased to $123.1bn from a downwardly revised $113.5bn in the first quarter. That was the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2008. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that the current-account deficit would slip to $115.1bn from a previously reported $116.8bn shortfall. The second-quarter current-account deficit represented 2.6% of GDP, the largest since the first quarter of 2016, up from 2.4% in the first quarter. The current-account deficit has dropped from a record high of 6.3% of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2005 as rising domestic oil production and lower global oil prices curbed the import bill. In the second quarter, the surplus on primary income ...
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