“The U.S. current-account deficit increased to $124.1 billion (preliminary) in the first quarter of 2018 from $116.1 billion (revised) in the fourth quarter of 2017,” the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announced on Wednesday.
Key takeaways from the original publication
- The deficit was 2.5 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter, up from 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter.
- The $8.0 billion increase in the current-account deficit reflected an $8.1 billion increase in the deficit on goods and relatively small and nearly offsetting changes in the balances on services, primary income, and secondary income.
- Exports of goods and services and income receipts increased $23.0 billion in the first quarter to $913.4 billion.