Despite a record monthly level of $102.21 billion in March, economists at Merrill Lynch & Co., New York, do not foresee sustained growth in U.S. exports. Among the reasons: deteriorating economic performance in major U.S. markets.
"The German economy has been in a funk since last autumn, Italy has officially slipped into recession, economic growth in the Netherlands contracted in [the first quarter of 2005] and there are now signs that France, too, is succumbing to the high-energy/strong-currency malaise," notes Merrill.
