March U.S. trade deficit falls

Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | 9:39 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. trade deficit fell sharply in March to the lowest level in six months as U.S. exports climbed to an all-time high and the surge of textile shipments from China slowed.

The Commerce Department reported today that the gap between what the United States imports and what it sells to foreign countries narrowed by 9.2 percent in March to $54.99 billion, down from the record monthly deficit of $60.57 billion set in February.

Even with the big improvement in March, the deficit through the first three months of this year is still running at an annual rate of $696 billion, 12.8 percent higher than the $617.08 billion record set for all of 2004.

The March improvement reflected a 1.5 percent increase in exports of U.S. goods and services, which rose to an all-time high of $102.2 billion, the fourth straight monthly record. The March improvement reflected gains in a wide range of products from commercial aircraft and telecommunications equipment to farm products and art work.

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