WASHINGTON, June 8: The US trade deficit narrowed in April from a month earlier as the world's largest economy grappled with fragile growth, government data showed on Friday in a report pointing to a global slowdown.

The trade gap shrank to $50.1 billion, from an upwardly revised $52.6 billion in March, the Commerce Department said.

In April, the United States imported $233.0 billion in goods and services, down 1.7 per cent from March, the second decline in three months.

Exports fell by 0.8 per cent, the first decline in five months, to $182.9 billion. The drop was led by capital goods and industrial supplies, but was partly offset by gains in food and beverage and autos.

“Slower trade activity in April may be a reflection of slowing world growth,” Nomura analysts said.

The US trade deficit in goods to the European Union tumbled to $8.7 billion from $9.8 billion in March, highlighting the eurozone's financial crisis that is pushing the 17-nation bloc toward recession.

With the eurozone, the gap shrank by a billion dollars to $7.2 billion.

The US trade gap in goods with Canada and China, its major trading partners, widened.

The shortfall with Canada, the nation's largest trade partner, rose to $3.3 billion from $3.0 billion.

The politically sensitive gap with China, the biggest US creditor, jumped to $24.6 billion from the prior month's $21.7 billion.

“By region, export growth to Japan, China and South American countries picked up in April, but the impact of the debt crisis in Europe is seen in this report with exports to that region almost 5.0 per cent below year-ago levels,” said RDQ Economics analysts.

The US trade deficit in petroleum products was $28.0 billion, accounting for more than half of the month's entire shortfall.

The average price of a barrel of imported crude oil rose to $109.94, its highest level since August 2008.

Monthly trade figures can be volatile. The three-month moving average ending in April showed a trade deficit of $49.4 billion, down from $50.3 billion in March.

Over the first four months of the year, the deficit totaled $201.1 billion, up 11 per cent from the January-April period in 2011.—AFP