U.S. trade deficit rises amid surging oil prices

April increase followed two months of declines

WASHINGTON – The U.S. trade deficit rose in April after two months of rare declines, pushed higher by surging oil prices and a flood of imported furniture, televisions and toys from China.

The gap between what the United States sells abroad and what it imports rose to $63.4 billion in April, the Commerce Department reported Friday. That was a 2.5 percent increase from the March deficit of $61.9 billion, but it was significantly lower than the $65 billion trade gap that Wall Street had been expecting.

The deterioration in the deficit was almost all accounted for by a $1.44 billion increase in America