Ray drained four 3-pointers and a 45-33 deficit shrank to 47-45.

Few expect that tomorrow's trade figure will produce dramatic evidence the deficit is shrinking.

If current plans hold, they will then plunge into another debate over how to make the budget system work so that the deficit actually shrinks.

Since the first quarter of 1987, the deficit in trade with Japan has shrunk nearly 30 percent.

In 1995, the deficit shrank to about $160 billion, or 2.3 percent of gross domestic product.

Council officials said future deficits would actually shrink under their plan.

At that time, the administration said the total deficit would shrink to $71 billion next year and disappear in 2004.

The trade ministry said the deficit could shrink to about $7 billion this year.

The services trade deficit shrank slightly, to 2.9 billion dollars.

The Administration has forecast that the deficit this year will shrink 22 percent, to $173.2 billion.