US trade gap widens less than expected in April

WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) The U.S. trade deficit widened less than expected in April to .4 billion, as oil import prices surged close to historical highs and U.S. exports turned in a near record performance, a government report showed on Friday.

Wall Street analysts had expected the trade gap to widen to billion, driven by crude oil prices that surpassed per barrel in April on the back of strong world demand and international tensions over Iran.

Although the month-to-month change was less than expected, the trade gap still grew 2.5 percent from a slightly revised estimate of .9 billion in March. In the first four months of this year, the trade gap totaled 4.2 billion, on pace to surpass the record of 6.7 billion set for all of last year.

Average prices for imported oil in April hit .82 per barrel, up nearly 9 percent from March and second only to the record of .42 set in September 2005, the Commerce Department said in its monthly report.

Overall imports grew 0.7 percent from the previous month to 9.1 billion, the second highest on record. Imports of capital goods, such as computers and computer accessories, telecommunication equipment and industrial machines, hit a record while other categories such as automobiles and consumer goods were near records.

U.S. exports, reflecting stronger growth overseas and a decline in the value of dollar in recent years, totaled 5.7 billion in April, just shy of the record high set in March.

Exports to Canada and China, two major U.S. trading partners, were also second only to the records set in March.

Even so, the politically sensitive trade gap with China widened in April to billion.

Meanwhile, U.S. exports of industrial supplies and materials, which includes plastics, chemicals and petroleum products, hit a record in April.

Exports of services - a broad category ranging from travel and tourism to banking and professionals such as lawyers and architects - also set a record.

REUTERS VJ ht1958