US trade deficit at highest level for more than six years

Economy thought to have contracted in first quarter of 2015 as gap between imports and exports jumps from $35.9bn in February to $51.4bn in March

The US trade deficit jumped to its highest level in almost six and a half years in March, suggesting the economy overall shrank in the first quarter of 2015.

The goods and services deficit leaped to $51.4bn (33.8bn) from $35.9bn in February as imports rose more than exports. It was the largest trade gap since October 2008, a month after the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers, and more than $10bn higher than the $41.2bn forecast by economists.

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