The trade deficit may widen again during this period, he said.

But the overall trade deficit widened 4.6 percent for the month.

The trade deficit widened by 5.8 percent from April to $7.73 billion.

The huge deficit with Japan has actually widened a bit.

The Government reported that the nation's trade deficit had substantially widened.

And the trade deficit did not widen further in June, as economists had expected.

The nation's trade deficit widened to $46 billion in March, largely because of oil imports.

The deficit with Canada, meanwhile, widened $400 million, to $1.6 billion.

As the nation's trade deficit widened to a record $170 billion in 1986, factory output rose only 2.5 percent.

The American trade deficit with China widened in the month, up 20pc to $21.6bn.