U.S. Trade Deficit Grows by 8.5% in April

The U.S. trade deficit grew by 8.5% in April as imports of consumer goods and business equipment increased, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The gap between imports and exports rose to $40.3 billion from $37.1 billion in March that was smaller than originally reported, Commerce said.

Economists had forecast the deficit to grow to $41.1 billion, Bloomberg News reported.

Imports increased 2.4% to $227.7 billion, and exports increased 1.2% to $187.4 billion.