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The Commerce Department said on Thursday the
current account deficit, which measures the flow of goods,
services and investments into and out of the country, fell 9.4%
to $130.4 billion.
Data for the fourth quarter was revised to show the deficit
widening to $143.9 billion, instead of the previously reported
$134.4 billion. The government revised current account data from
2016 through the fourth quarter of 2018.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the current account
deficit shrinking to $124.6 billion in the first quarter. The
current account gap represented 2.5% of gross domestic product
in the January-March quarter, down from 2.8% in the fourth
quarter.
The deficit on the current account has shrunk from a peak of 6.2
percent of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2005, in part because of
a significant increase in the volume of oil exports.
In the first quarter, exports of goods rose 0.6% to $419.3
billion, while imports dropped 2.1% to $635.9 billion.
The flow of foreign profits repatriated by U.S. companies slowed
to $100.2 billion in the first quarter from an upwardly revised
$146.6 billion in the prior period, reflecting a waning boost
from the corporate tax overhaul in January 2018.
That was still well above pre-tax cut levels, which were
typically in the $30-$40 billion range. Earnings were previously
reported to have increased by $85.9 billion in the fourth
quarter. Earnings repatriation peaked at $294.7 billion in the
first quarter of last year.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani Editing by Paul Simao) ((Lucia.Mutikani@thomsonreuters.com;
1 202 898 8315; Reuters Messaging: lucia.mutikani.
thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
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