U.S. current account deficit widens in fourth quarter

[March 21, 2018]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. current account deficit widened slightly more than expected in the fourth quarter, amid an increase in goods imports.

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday the current account deficit, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country, widened by $26.7 billion to $128.2 billion, or 2.6 percent of national economic output.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the current account deficit to widen to $125 billion.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Paul Simao)

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