The U.S. current account deficit hiked 2.5 percent to 192.6 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of this year, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

According to revised figures, The U.S. current account deficit was at 187.9 billion dollars in the final quarter of last year.

The first-quarter gain was more than accounted for by an increase in net unilateral current transfers abroad.

In addition, the deficit on goods increased by a small amount. These increases were partly offset by small increases in the surpluses on services and on income.

For the first quarter, the deficit on goods and services decreased slightly to 176.8 billion dollars in the first quarter from 176.9 billion in the previous quarter.

The deficit on goods increased by 600 million dollars to 200.9 billion dollars from the previous quarter, while the surplus on services increased to 24.1 billion dollars from a surplus of 23.4 billion dollars in the previous quarter.

The surplus on income was up to 10.4 billion dollars from 9.7 billion dollars in the previous quarter.

Net unilateral transfers, which include foreign aid and pension payments to Americans living overseas, climbed to 26.1 billion dollars in the first quarter from the previous quarter's 20.7 billion dollars.

The current account is the broadest measure of U.S. trade because it tracks not only the flow of goods and services across borders but also investment flows. The deficit is equivalent to a debt owed by the United States to the rest of the world.

Source: Xinhua