Smaller U.S. goods trade gap seen boosting first-quarter GDP growth

The U.S. goods trade deficit narrowed sharply to a one-year low in March, as both imports and exports fell, suggesting economic growth in the first-quarter was probably not as weak as currently anticipated. The Commerce Department said in its advance report on Wednesday that the goods trade gap tumbled 10.3 percent to $56.90 billion last month, the smallest deficit since February 2015. While the improvement suggested there could be an upside surprise in gross domestic product growth for the firs