US trade deficit soared to record $74.4bn in March

The US economy is recovering much faster than the rest of the world, a reality that is playing out in trade numbers as the gap widens. Americans are starting to spend again, while US exporters are facing sluggish overseas demand in nations slower to recover.

The United States trade deficit surged to a record $74.4bn in March as an improving US economy drove purchases of imported foreign goods. The deficit, the gap between what the US buys from abroad and what it sells to other countries, was 5.6 percent greater than the February gap of $70.5bn, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Imports rose 6.3 percent to $274.5bn, while exports increased 6.6 percent to $200bn. The US imports so much more than it exports that in dollar terms, the rise in imports was greater.