WASHINGTON — The U.S. current account deficit widened to $134.4 billion in the fourth quarter, larger than the -$132.3 billion expected by MNI, from a revised $126.6 billion gap in the previous quarter, data released Wednesday by the Commerce Department showed.
Here are the key findings from the release:
- The goods and services gap was the primary driver of the wider current account gap, widening to $167.0 billion in the fourth quarter from $162.0 billion in the third quarter.
- The primary income surplus widened to $60.4 billion in the fourth quarter from $60.3 billion in the previous quarter, while the secondary income deficit widened to $27.8 billion from $24.9 billion in the third quarter.
- The current account deficit rose to 2.6% of GDP in the fourth quarter from 2.5% in the previous quarter.
