Washington, Rajab 4, 1439, March 21, 2018, SPA -- The U.S. current-account deficit, a measure of the country’s debt to other countries, widened slightly more than expected in the fourth quarter of 2017, amid an increase in goods imports, the government reported Wednesday. The Commerce Department said the deficit in the current account, the broadest measure of trade because it also includes investment flows, widened 26 percent to $128.2 billion in the October-December period from a revised $101.5 billion in the third quarter. The current account shows if a country is a net lender or debtor. The United States recorded a larger deficit in goods such as petroleum and a smaller surplus in primary income in the fourth quarter. The current-account deficit was 2.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter, up from 2.1 percent of GDP in the third quarter but well below a peak of 6.3 percent in 2005. --SPA 20:38 LOCAL TIME 17:38 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w647674