Trade deficit hits record $74.4B in March

The U.S. trade deficit surged to a record $74.4 billion in March as an improving U.S. economy boosted purchases of imported foreign goods. The Commerce Department reported that the March deficit was 5.6 percent higher than the February gap of $70,5 billion. The trade deficit is the gap between what America buys from abroad and what it sells to other countries. Imports rose 6.3 percent to $274.5 billion while exports increased 6.6 percent to $200 billion.The politically sensitive deficit with China in goods rose 11.6 percent to $27.7 billion.