WASHINGTON (AFP) – The U.S. trade deficit increased slightly in March after seven consecutive months of decline, as U.S. exports fell to a 2004 low amid the global economic crisis, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday.

The trade gap rose in March to a seasonally adjusted 27.6 billion dollars, from a revised 26.1 billion in February.
The March trade deficit was less than analysts' consensus forecast of a 29.0-billion-dollar gap.
The gap remained at historic lows on an annual basis, 52 percent below the March 2008 level, as the worst economic crisis since the 1930s hobbled trade flows.
In February, the U.S. trade gap had stood at its lowest level since 1999.