Canada current account gap widens in first quarter

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's current account deficit widened again in the first quarter to C$17.47 billion ($13.98 billion) after narrowing in the first three quarters of 2014, data from Statistics Canada showed on Thursday. That was shy of forecasts for a deficit of C$18.5 billion. The fourth-quarter deficit was revised to C$13.05 billion from the initially reported C$13.92 billion. It was the second-largest deficit on record. The widening of the deficit over the last two quarters was mainly due to trade in goods, particularly energy products. The trade in goods deficit expanded to a record C$7.25 billion in the first quarter. Overall exports of goods declined to C$128.0 billion as the value of energy products was down C$5.9 billion despite higher volumes. The reduction was concentrated in crude petroleum, amidst a 32 percent drop in prices for the quarter. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)