U.S. Trade Deficit Widens Slightly More Than Expected In May

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed the U.S. trade deficit widened in the month of May amid a steep drop by the value of exports.

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit climbed to $71.5 billion in May from a revised $60.3 billion in April.

Economists had expected the trade deficit to increase to $71.0 billion from the $61.6 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The wider trade deficit came as the value of exports tumbled by 4.0 percent to $279.0 billion, while the value of imports edged down by 0.1 percent to $350.5 billion.