US Trade Deficit Widens for a Third Month to $70.5 Billion

  • Shortfall in goods and services trade widest in four months
  • Drop in consumer goods imports and exports shows cooler demand

Shipping containers at the Georgia Ports Authority Garden City Terminal near Savannah, Georgia.

Photographer: Stephen Morton/Bloomberg 

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The US trade deficit widened for a third-straight month in February as the value of exports fell more than imports.

The gap in goods and services trade grew 2.7% to $70.5 billion, the widest in four months, Commerce Department data showed Wednesday. The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a $68.8 billion gap.