US current account deficit up 44.3% in Q1

​​​​​​​By Dilara Zengin Okay

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US current account deficit rose 44.3% to $450.2 billion in the first quarter, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday.

Expectations for the current account deficit were $448 billion during the period.

The current account deficit data for the last quarter was revised from $303.9 billion to $312 billion.

The US’ current account deficit to GDP ratio was calculated at 6% in the first quarter; the ratio was 4.2% in the last quarter.

The increase in the current account deficit for the period was largely due to the expansion of the trade deficit in goods.