WASHINGTON — The U.S. current account deficit rose to $106.1 billion in the first quarter of 2013 from a revised $102.3 billion deficit in the fourth quarter of 2012, originally reported as $110.4 billion, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
The deficit was below the median $109.4 billion estimate of economists polled by Thomson Reuters and represented 2.7% of gross domestic product in the first quarter. The deficit represented 2.6% of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The increase in the deficit was accounted for by a decrease in the surplus on income and an increase in outflows such as grants and pensions. These factors were partly offset by an decrease in the deficit on goods and an increase in the surplus on services, the Commerce Department said.
The deficit on goods and services dropped to $123.7 billion in the first quarter from $127.4 billion in the fourth.
