Trade deficit rises in February
Commerce Department says imports outweighed exports by $62.3 billion.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The trade deficit rose in February, contrary to an expected decrease, according to a government report Thursday.
"Interestingly, that growth was not oil-related," said Drew Matus, economist with Lehman Brothers.
The Commerce Department said the gap between the nation's imports and exports came in at $62.3 billion, up from a revised $59 billion in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast the gap would fall to $57.4 billion.
U.S. exports for the month rose 2% to $151.4 billion from December's revised $148.4 billion. But imports rose 3% in February to $213.7 billion from $207.3 billion in the previous month.
Imports of automotive vehicles and parts grew 8.6%, according to the report, and imports of consumer goods grew by about 5.7%. Crude oil imports fell about 10% in February compared to the month before.
Imports usually pick up when businesses anticipate stronger consumer spending down the line. The early Easter this year drained a lot of sales from the month of March, according to retail analysts.
Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer reported only a small sales gain for March on Thursday, but said it expects sales to pick up again in April.
However, Robert Brusca, economist with FAO Economics, said that "consumer spending isn't going anywhere," and the trade deficit increase will probably be reflected by increased inventories in a month or two.
Retail analyst Ken Perkins of Retail Metrics, Inc. agrees, saying the import increases could be due to more to fluctuations in the value of the dollar than anything else. 
