Surging oil prices drove the U.S. trade deficit further into the red in March, according to government data released Wednesday May 11, 2011.

The trade balance, which measures the difference between the nation's imports and exports, burgeoned to a $48.2 billion deficit in March from $45.4 billion in February, the Commerce Department said.

Economists were expecting the deficit to grow due to rising commodity prices, but the gap came in even deeper than the $47.7 billion they had expected. Read more »