The U.S. trade deficit climbed in March as the coronavirus outbreak battered America’s trade with the world. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that the gap between what the United States sells and what it buys abroad widened by 11.6 percent in March to US$44.4 billion from US$39.8 billion in February. U.S. exports fell by 9.6 percent to US$187.7 billion on plunging orders for cars, auto parts and industrial machines. Imports fell by 6.2 percent to US$232.2 billion. Total trade — exports plus imports — came in at US$419.9 billion in March, down 7.8 percent from February and 11.4 percent from March 2019.-AP

Source: The Standard May 06, 2020 02:56 UTC