WASHINGTON (MNI) - The U.S. current account deficit narrowed to $98.9 billion in the second quarter after a slight widening in the previous quarter, data released Thursday by the Commerce Department showed.
The income surplus widened to $53.1 billion in the second quarter from $50.9 billion in the previous quarter, as receipts rose by $887 million, and payments to foreigners fell by $1.3 billion.
The goods and services gap narrowed to $117.8 billion from $122.6 billion in the previous quarter, as export growth sharply outpaced import growth.
The unilateral transfers gap widened to $34.2 billion in the second quarter from $33.1 billion the previous quarter, a slight negative for the US current account
Net purchases of U.S. Treasuries by private foreign buyers fell to $0.3 billion in the second quarter from $50.8 billion in the previous quarter, while net purchases by foreign official buyers fell to $12.0 billion in the second quarter from $118.5 billion in the previous quarter.
The current account stood at 2.4% of GDP in the second quarter, down from 2.5% in the previous quarter.
Net financial flows jumped to $73.1 billion in the second quarter from $40.4 billion in the first quarter, as US assets abroad were a much smaller outflow than in the previous quarter, but were offset by smaller inflows of foreign owned assets into the US and a smaller decline in net financial derivatives.
