U.S. Fourth Quarter Current Account Deficit Expands to $124.1 Billion

The U.S. current account deficit expanded to $124.1 billion in the fourth quarter, which is the largest in the last three years, according to data reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The current account deficit for the third quarter was $107.6 billion. The main factors responsible for the widening of the current account deficit are the increase in the goods and services deficit as well as the decrease in the surplus on income, says the report of the Commerce Department.

For 2011, the deficit has climbed slightly to $473.4 billion from $470.9 billion in 2010.

The report also stated that the U.S. income on overseas assets declined to $180.7 billion in the fourth quarter. At the same time, there has been an increase in foreign earnings on the U.S. assets, which rose to $130.5 billion.

The U.S. trade surplus in services declined to $45.3 billion in the fourth quarter while it was at $46.2 billion in the third quarter. The deficit on goods and services also increased to $141.1 billion in the fourth quarter while it was $134.7 billion in the third quarter. There was clearly an indication of rising imports and declining exports.