WASHINGTON - The imbalance in the current account narrowed in the second quarter to $98.8 billion from a revised $104.5 billion in the first quarter, previously reported as a $101.5 billion deficit, the Commerce Department reported today.
As a share of GDP, the second quarter figure was 2.8%, the smallest since the fourth quarter of 2001, when it was 2.9% of GDP.
But the narrowing of the current account deficit was less than expected. Thomson Reuters’ poll of economists predicted a $92 billion deficit for the second quarter.
The balance on goods was a $115.5 billion deficit in the second quarter, following a $124 billion deficit in the first. The balance on services was a $32.5 billion surplus after a $31.6 billion surplus the previous quarter.
The deficit on goods and services decreased to $83 billion in the second quarter from $92.4 billion in the first.
