Current account trade deficit drops to $101.5B

The deficit in the broadest measure of trade has plunged sharply in the first three months of the year as the country's deep recession depressed imports of oil and other goods. The Commerce Department said Wednesday the current account trade deficit dropped to $101.5 billion in the first quarter, a 34.5 percent decline from the deficit in the fourth quarter. It was the lowest current account deficit since the final three months of 2001 when the country was mired in the last recession. The current account is the broadest measure of trade because it covers not only goods and services but also investment flows between countries.