The trade deficit in the U.S. unexpectedly shrank in February as stabilizing overseas markets boosted exports and Americans imported less oil.
The gap narrowed by 3.4 percent to $43 billion from a revised $44.5 billion in January, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 66 economists called for the deficit to be little changed at $44.6 billion. The number of barrels of crude oil imported into the U.S. in February was the smallest since 1996.
