By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. trade deficit widened by 14.1% in March to $51.8 billion, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The trade deficit was above the consensus forecast of Wall Street economists of a deficit of $50 billion. Economists had expected the deficit to snap back, believing that imports were held down in February due to the timing of the Chinese New Year. In March, imports rose 5.2% while exports increased 2.9%. The U.S. trade deficit with China widened to $21.7 billion in March compared with $18.1 billion in the same month last year and $19.4 billion in February. The wider deficit in March was broadly in line with government forecasts in the initial estimate of first quarter GDP.
