U.S. trade deficit falls in March WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly to $55.0 billion in March in the largest drop in over three years, as exports hit a record and imports from China declined, a government report showed on Wednesday. The 9.2 percent plunge in the deficit defied Wall Street forecasts. Analysts had expected high oil prices and a flood of clothing from China to push the monthly trade gap to around $61.5 billion, which would have been a new record. The smaller-than-expected shortfall gave stock futures a boost in early trading, but weighed on bond prices because it implied stronger first-quarter growth than first thought. "(The report is) going to cause a lot of economists that had downgraded their second-quarter GDP numbers on the back of the weak first-quarter GDP numbers to do some real soul searching. It looks like the GDP numbers for the first quarter are going to be upwardly revised," said Steve Ricchiuto, chief U.S. economist with ABN AMRO in New York. The trade data boosted the dollar against major currencies. The euro dropped against the dollar, trading at $1.2797 soon after the report from about $1.2875 shortly prior. The dollar rose against the yen, trading at about 105.82 yen from about 105.35 yen shortly prior. Imports of clothing, textiles and related goods from China fell 21.2 percent during March after a 9.8 percent increase in February. But imports of those products in the first three months of the year are 54 percent higher than last year, as the result of a surge in January when quota restrictions on textile imports expired. Total imports from China declined 4.4 percent to $16.2 billion in March. That helped cut overall imports by 2.5 percent to $157.2 billion -- the largest monthly drop since December 2001, the same as the trade gap. Although imports from other major trading partners such as Canada, Mexico and the European Union rose during March, the overall tally declined as China and smaller trading partners shipped fewer consumer goods, autos and auto parts, capital goods and industrial supplies to the United States March oil imports were the second highest on record and average prices for imported crude jumped $4.29 per barrel during the month -- the largest increase in nearly 15 years. U.S. exports, led by increased shipments of capital goods and food, feeds and beverages, hit a record $102.2 billion. U.S. exports to Canada and the European Union set new highs. In a separate report, applications for U.S. home mortgages increased last week amid a robust uptick in purchasing and refinancing activity, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity increased 9.4 percent to 781.0, adding to the 0.2 gain in the previous week. Quelle "U.S. trade deficit falls in March" : reuters.com Main page for "U.S. trade deficit falls in March"