WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)- The U.S. current-account deficit, a measures of the nation’s debt to other countries, dropped 4.5% in the third quarter to $113 billion from $118.3 billion. The decline was mostly tied to a lower trade deficit in goods, the government said Thursday. The U.S. posted an unusually large increase in agricultural exports, mainly soybeans, in the third quarter after a poor harvest among South American producers. The current account reveals if a country is a net lender or debtor. The current account deficit was 2.4% of GDP in the third quarter. That’s down from 2.6% in the second quarter and well below a peak of 6.3% in 2005.
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