Trade deficit widens

Updated 10:34 a.m. ET, Fri Aug 12, 2005

The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in June, to $58.8 billion, as oil imports and the gap with China both hit new records.

The Census Bureau said Friday the June deficit was 6.1 percent higher than the $55.4 billion deficit in May. Total exports in June were $106.8 billion, while imports hit $165.6 billion. June exports were virtually unchanged from May, while imports in June increased $3.4 billion from May. Oil imports hit a record high of $19.9 billion, an increase of 9.8 percent from May.

So far in 2005, the trade deficit is running at an annual rate of $686 billion, 11 percent higher than the all-time high of $617.6 billion last year.

Imports, however, rose a much larger $3.44 billion to also set a record at $165.7 billion, reflecting an increase in both the price and volume of petroleum shipments and higher imports of consumer goods.

The U.S. deficit with China widened to a record $17.6 billion in June. In 2004, the trade imbalance with China reached $162 billion, the highest imbalance ever recorded with any country. This year's deficit is running 32 percent above the 2004 pace, the Census Bureau said.

-- Traffic World