The U.S. current account deficit, the broadest measure of international trade, widened in the first quarter as Americans stepped up purchases of foreign consumer goods.

The U.S. Commerce Department said the current-account deficit totalled a record US$195.1 billion in the January through March period, up from a revised US $188.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004.

The current-account deficit has risen to record heights in recent years as U.S. demand for foreign goods and services has soared. The current account deficit for all of 2004 hit a record US$668.1 billion, up 28.6% from the previous record of US$519.7 billion in 2003.

In the first quarter, the trade deficit in goods and services, which accounts for about 90% of the current-account gap, was US$171.8 billion in the first quarter, wider than the fourth-quarter’s US$169.2 billion.

Meanwhile, the balance on investment income recorded a US$5.1 billion surplus as Americans earned more on their overseas investments than foreigners did on their U.S. investments.

Direct foreign investment totalled US$28.8 billion, down from US$31.6 billion in the fourth quarter.