U.S. Current Account Deficit Falls 5.5% in Q2

The Commerce Department said on Sept. 16 that the U.S. current account deficit fell 5.5% in the second quarter to its lowest level in more than seven years.

The current account gap stood at $98.8 billion in the April-June period, the smallest deficit since the fourth quarter of 2001.

The second quarter decline in the current account, viewed as the broadest measure of trade and income flows, followed a revised first-quarter number of $104.5 billion.

A sharp drop in the deficit on goods "more than accounted for" the overall decrease in the deficit, the department said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009