Current Account Deficit Widens Sharply

The nation's current account deficit widened sharply in the third quarter, to $124.1 billion from a revised $111.1 billion in the second quarter. This is the widest gap of the recovery, since the troubles of fourth-quarter 2008. A greater deficit in goods trade, at $0.8 billion in the quarter, is the smallest factor in the widening. A narrowing in the surplus for primary income, at $6.6 billion, and a widening in the gap for secondary income, at $5.8 billion, are the main factors behind the quarter's deficit. The gap relative to GDP rose 1 tenth in the third quarter to a still manageable 2.7 percent.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
Pulled down by weak exports, the current account deficit is expected to widen to $119.0 billion in the third quarter from $109.7 billion in the second quarter. The gap relative to GDP in the second quarter was a manageable 2.6 percent though this reading is expected to move higher.