Economics
Wider U.S. Trade Gap May Signal Drag on Second-Quarter Growth
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U.S. demand for foreign-made goods climbed and exports declined, causing the trade deficit to widen in April, which may restrain the pace of economic growth this quarter, Commerce Department data showed Friday.
A wider gap in merchandise trade that persists would limit any rebound in economic growth this quarter after a slowdown at the start of 2017. Trade contributed little to first-quarter growth after subtracting 1.82 percentage points in the final three months of 2016, according to the government’s figures on gross domestic product.