U.S. Trade Deficit Widens More Than Expected In February

(RTTNews) - Largely reflecting a steep drop in the value of exports, the Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in the month of February.

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit widened to $71.1 billion in February from a revised $67.8 billion in January.

Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $70.5 billion from the $68.2 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The wider deficit came as the value of exports tumbled by 2.6 percent to $187.3 billion, while the value of imports slid by 0.7 percent to $258.3 billion.