Washington (Reuters) -usa with a current account deficit was closed in the fourth quarter, but the improvement could be temporary because the import of goods in January in January increased sharply to a record high, controlled businesses that bought foreign goods to avoid tariffs.
The Office for Economic Analysis of the Ministry of Trade on Thursday reported a current account deficit on Thursday, which measures the flow of goods, services and investment in the country and out of the country, reduced $ 6.3 billion, ie $ 2.0% to $ 303.9 billion.
The third quarter data were revised to show that the deficit has expanded to a record maximum of $ 310.3 billion instead of $ 310.9 billion, as mentioned before. Reuters 'respondents' respondents predicted a current account deficit in the fourth quarter, which increased to $ 325.5 billion.
Improvement reflected the balance of the primary income that swung back to the excess.
The current account gap represented 4.1% of gross domestic product, from 4.2% in July September. The deficit reached a peak of 6.3% of GDP in the third quarter of 2006, when the housing market began to crumble.
The current account deficit expanded by $ 228.2 billion, ie 25.2%, to a record $ 1.13 trillion in 2024. It was 3.9% of GDP, the highest since 2022 and more than 3.3% in 2023.
The large current account deficit has a small impact on the dollar for the time being, due to its reserve currency. However, economists warned that the expanding gap and ballooning of the budget deficit of the Federal Government pose a risk to the greenback.
Imports of goods in the fourth quarter increased by $ 5.7 billion to $ 845.3 billion, which was strengthened by non -monetary gold, which compensated for a sharp decline in investment goods. Imports of services increased by $ 4.8 billion to $ 211.0 billion, raised by personal travel.
The export of goods fell by $ 10.8 billion to $ 519.2 billion, withdrawing by a decline in civil aircraft, computer accessories, peripherals and parts, as well as semiconductors.
Consumer exports such as medicinal, dental and pharmaceutical products have also decreased. The export of services increased by $ 7.7 billion to $ 287.1 billion in growing fees for the use of intellectual property and travel.
The goods trade deficit has expanded to $ 326.1 billion, which is the highest level since the first quarter of 2022, from $ 309.6 billion in July September.
The deficit of the goods trade in January achieved a maximum of $ 329.5 billion in January, because businesses divided imports in anticipation of the wide duties of President Donald Trump administration. Trump announced a number of tariffs, although some duties were then delayed until April.
