The deficit in the broadest measure of trade set a record for the fifth consecutive year in the United States even though the imbalance in the final three months of 2006 shrank, reflecting a lower foreign oil bill. The Commerce Department reported that the imbalance in the current account jumped by 8.2 percent to $856.6 billion (¤648.1 billion), representing a record 6.5 percent of the total economy. For the fourth quarter, the deficit shrank by 14.6 percent to $195.8 billion (¤148.1 billion), the smallest quarterly imbalance since the summer of 2005, The Associated Press reported.
