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 WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. deficit in the broadest measure of international trade surged to an all-time high last year, increasing a potential threat to the economy as the country sank deeper into debt to Japan, China and other nations.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the deficit in the U.S. current account increased by 25.5 percent last year to a record $665.9 billion. Forecasters said the 2005 deficit could be $100 billion higher than that as the United States continues to buy record levels of foreign consumer goods and oil.
The current account deficit represents the total amount of financing the United States needs to cover its international accounts and thus covers all aspects of foreign trade, from goods and services to investment flows among countries.
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