"We're going to see the current-account deficit widen"
- Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics Inc.
The U.S. current account deficit narrowed to $117.4 billion in the second quarter of 2012, down from $133.6 billion in the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. Analysts had predicted U.S. current account balance to fall to -125.5B last month. The decline may be, mostly, explained by a fall in oil prices and a larger surplus in income payments.
"We're going to see the current-account deficit widen," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
"Exports are going to weaken, a reflection of the problems in Europe and slowing emerging markets. Trade may be neutral to a drag."
The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 1.63 per cent to 1,459.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.55 per cent to 13,539.86. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.33 per cent to 3,155.83.
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