Trade gap narrows to $58.2 billion on fewer imports

Real trade deficit lowest since 2003 in sign of weaker global growth By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch Last update: 10:21 a.m. EDT May 9, 2008 WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- In a sign of weaker global growth, both imports and exports fell sharply in March, driving the U.S. trade deficit down to $58.2 billion, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Nominal imports fell 2.9% to $206.7 billion, the largest decline in more than six years, despite record oil prices. Nominal exports dropped 1.7% to $148.5 billion, the biggest drop in nearly three years, despite higher prices for U.S. farm products. Read the full report. The improvement in the trade deficit could be "a manifestation of a cyclical downturn," wrote Steven Wieting, an economist for Citigroup Global Markets. After adjusting for inflation, the nation's real trade gap for March was the lowest since November 2003. Real imports of goods fell 5.4% to the lowest level since November 2005 after adjusting for the 2.8% rise in import prices. Real exports of goods fell 5.5% to the lowest level since June after adjusting for the 1.5% rise in export prices. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been looking for the trade gap to narrow to $61 billion in March, although some noted an unusual spike in imports in February that would likely be unwound in March. READ MORE