India, July 3 -- A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed the U.S. trade deficit widened in the month of May amid a steep drop by the value of exports.
The Commerce Department said the trade deficit climbed to $71.5 billion in May from a revised $60.3 billion in April.
Economists had expected the trade deficit to increase to $71.0 billion from the $61.6 billion originally reported for the previous month.
The wider trade deficit came as the value of exports tumbled by 4.0 percent to $279.0 billion in May after surging by 3.4 percent to $290.6 billion in April.
The report showed a steep drop in exports of industrial supplies and materials as well as a decrease in exports of capital goods, while exports of consumer g...