The U.S. current account deficit widened more than expected in the fourth quarter to a record $187.9 billion, while a separate report showed housing starts climbed to a 21-year high in February.
The quarterly current account gap exceeded Wall Street expectations for a $181.9 billion deficit.
For 2004, the current account deficit, the broadest measure of U.S. trade with the world, grew 25 percent to a new high of $665.9 billion from the 2003 gap of $530.7 billion, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.
And U.S. housing starts rose 0.5 percent last month to a 21-year high, beating Wall Street expectations for a fall, as single-family starts jumped to a record, a second Commerce Department report showed.
Housing starts climbed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.195 million units in February from an upwardly revised 2.183 million unit pace a month earlier, the government said. The monthly rate was the highest since a 2.260 million unit pace posted in February 1984.