The U.S. trade deficit jumped to its highest level in two years in April as exports declined and imports surged to a record high, the government reported Wednesday, suggesting that trade could be a drag on second-quarter growth. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit rose 6.9 percent to $47.2 billion in April. It was the largest imbalance since April 2012 and followed a $44.2 billion trade deficit in March. Economists expected a much smaller April imbalance. Exports fell for the fourth time in the last five months, dropping 0.2 percent to $193.4 billion. Imports rose 1.2 percent to a record high of $240.6 billion, reflecting record shipment levels of foreign-made cars, food, computers, and other goods. A wider trade deficit can indicate rising U.S. demand; many economists see the big jump in imports as a positive sign that the country is emerging from a severe winter. But a bigger trade imbalance also can act as a drag on growth because it means U.S. companies are earning less from their overseas markets. Trade subtracted nearly one percentage point from first-quarter gross domestic product, as the economy contracted at a 1.0 percent annual pace in the first three months of the year. In 2013, the trade deficit declined by 11.4 percent to $476.4 billion. The result was led partly by a boom in U.S. energy production that reduced the country's dependence on foreign oil imports by almost 11 percent while increasing petroleum exports to a record high. Economists believe the domestic energy boom will help to narrow the trade deficit further this year. In April, imports of petroleum fell 2.2 percent to $29.8 billion, while U.S. oil exports rose 3.1 percent to $11.8 billion. The trade deficit with the 28-country European Union hit a monthly record high of $14 billion as imports from the bloc hit a record high. The deficit with Germany also hit a record high, as did the deficit with South Korea. The politically sensitive trade deficit with China jumped 33.7 percent to $27.3 billion in April, the biggest imbalance since January. The U.S. deficit with China is the largest with any country, and this year's imbalance is running ahead of last year's record pace.
