Current Account Deficit Narrows

The nation's current account deficit narrowed in the second quarter to minus $119.9 billion vs a revised minus $131.8 billion in the first quarter. In positive reversals from the first quarter, the surplus on primary income widened back out while the deficit on secondary income narrowed. Marginal weakness in goods exports was offset by strength in service exports. The gap relative to GDP came in at 2.6 percent, noticeably lower than the prior quarter's 2.9 percent.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
The current account deficit widened in the first quarter to $124.7 billion from $113.4 billion in the fourth quarter. A narrowing in the primary income surplus and a widening in the secondary income deficit were main negatives in the second quarter, offsetting slight improvement for net exports. As a percentage of GDP, the deficit came in at 2.7 percent in the first quarter, still moderate but up from the fourth quarter's 2.5 percent.