Imports Hit Record High In March

The U.S. trade deficit soared to $8.92 billion in March as imports hit an all-time high even though the two biggest items on America’s overseas shopping list - crude oil and autos - declined.

The report from the Commerce Department on Friday said the deficit in goods and services was 26.8 percent higher in March than in February.

The March trade deficit was worse than the $8 billion analysts had been expecting, but that partially reflected a new method of tracking exports that lowered the initial estimate for February but made March look worse than it otherwise would have been.

The government report showed U.S. exports of goods and services were down 0.8 percent in March to $68.8 billion while imports climbed 1.7 percent to an all-time high of $77.72 billion.

In another report Friday, the University of Michigan said consumer confidence fell in May, giving stock and bond prices a lift since it suggests the economy is not overheating and inflation is not an immediate problem.

The university’s midmonth report on consumer sentiment, which is not released publicly but is widely followed on Wall Street, fell to 89.9 from 92.7 in April, economists familiar with the numbers said.

The school’s index of future expectations declined a similar amount.

Other economic news this week:

The Labor Department said the Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent in April, fueled by the biggest one-month increase in gasoline prices since the Persian Gulf crisis nearly six years ago.

But economists discounted the significance of the increase because the so-called core rate of consumer inflation, excluding energy and food, rose a minuscule 0.1 percent.