WASHINGTON – America’s trade deficit expanded in March as a surge in artificial intelligence investments drove up imports faster than rising exports could offset them, federal data released Tuesday shows.
The trade gap grew 4.4% to reach $60.3 billion, according to new figures from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau. Economic forecasters had predicted the deficit would climb to $60.9 billion for the month.
The trade imbalance reduced first-quarter economic growth by 1.30 percentage points, while the overall economy expanded at a 2.2% annual pace during that period.
March imports climbed 2.3% to $381.2 billion. Goods coming into the country jumped 3.6% to $302.2 billion, driven by capital goods purchases that hit a record $120.7 billion.
Meanwhile, exports grew 2.0% to reach an all-time peak of $320.9 billion. Goods leaving the country surged 3.1% to a record $213.5 billion, helped by increased petroleum shipments. Ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran has disrupted global oil supplies and pushed up crude prices, positioning the United States to likely see continued strong petroleum export growth in coming months. The nation currently exports more oil than it imports.
