The trade deficit narrowed sharply from $65.6bn to $62.0bn in March. But given the sharp increase in import prices by 2.1% mom, U.S. trade deficit probably have widened again around $66 bn in April. "The April Trade deficit is expected to widen to $67.7B, following significant deficit reduction in the previous two months," said Mike Carey, currency strategist at Calyon. "Much of the anticipated deterioration in the deficit reflects the 10.8% (not seasonally adjusted) surge in oil prices in April, which should inflate the US import bill despite smaller volumes imported. Indeed, WTI reached $69.7/barrel in April up from $62.9/barrel in March," he informed. "The smaller trade deficit in March was due to a gain in exports and a fall in imports," stated James Mehring, economics editor at Business WeekBusiness.