The United States’ current account deficit widened by $0.9 billion, or 0.5%, to $190.3 billion in the second quarter of 2021
The deficit figure was announced on Tuesday by the Commerce Department which also reported that the second quarter deficit was 3.3% of current dollar gross domestic product (GDP), down from 3.4% in the first quarter
The deficit beats market expectations which reflected the combined balances on trade in goods and services and income flows between U.S residents and residents of other countries.
Analysts had projected that the country’s current account deficit would hit $191 billion during the quarter under review. This is even the first quarter figure was also revised downward to $189.4 billion, from $195.7 billion.
A statement by the department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis further reads, in part: “The $0.9 billion widening of the current account deficit in the second quarter mainly reflected reduced surpluses on services and on primary income that were mostly offset by a reduced deficit on secondary income.”
