U.S. current account barely changed in first quarter

[June 19, 2020]   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. current account deficit was barely changed in the first quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic restricted the flow of goods and services.

The Commerce Department said on Friday the current account deficit, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country, dipped 0.1% to $104.2 billion last quarter. Data for the fourth quarter was revised to show the deficit falling to $104.3 billion, instead of $109.8 billion as previously reported.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the current account gap shrinking to $103 billion in the January-March quarter.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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