U.S. Q3 Current Account Shows $107.5B Deficit, From $118.1B in Q2

WASHINGTON — The U.S. current account deficit fell to $107.5 billion in the third quarter of 2012, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The figure represented a 9% decrease from the revised second quarter deficit of $118.1 billion, originally reported as $117.4 billion. The third quarter current account deficit was the smallest since a $104.7 billion deficit in the second quarter of 2010.

The deficit came in above the median $103.5 billion estimate of economists polled by Thompson Reuters.

The third quarter deficit represented 2.7% of gross domestic product, down from 3% the previous quarter and the smallest percentage of GDP since a 2.5% mark in the second quarter of 2009.

The decrease mostly reflected a falling deficit on goods, the Commerce Department reported. The goods deficit dropped to $173.9 billion from $185.7 billion the previous quarter. Changes in other balances were relatively small.

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