By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. trade deficit widened to a seasonally adjusted $40.2 billion in December as imports of crude oil surged, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. It was the largest trade gap in a year. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were looking for the gap to widen to $37.7 billion from $36.4 billion in November. Read our complete economic calendar and forecast. The wider-than-expected trade deficit should lead to a downward revision to fourth-quarter gross domestic product to about 5.6% from 5.7%, said economists for Morgan Stanley. However, they said rising imports of capital goods suggested strong U.S. investment, a positive for 2010 growth. Imports of goods and services increased $8.4 billion, or 4.8%, to $189.2 billion, led by higher imports of petroleum, autos, and capital goods. Read the full report on the government's website. Imports of crude oil rose 9.2% to 8.9 million barrels a day from 8.2 million in November. The average price rose 0.9% to $73.20 a barrel, the highest since October 2008. Exports of goods and services rose $4.6 billion, or 3.3%, to $142.7 billion, led by higher exports of civilian aircraft and industrial materials. "Since the nadir in April, the value of the country's exports have risen 17% on the back of foreign economic recoveries," wrote Jay Bryson, global economist for Wells Fargo Securities. "Broad-based increases in imports usually are a sign of recovering domestic demand." In inflation-adjusted terms, the real deficit in goods increased 7% as real imports rose 5.2% and real exports increased 4.3%, the best growth in nearly six years. Excluding petroleum, real imports rose 3.3%. For all of 2009, the deficit shrank to $380.7 billion, $315.3 billion less than the 2008 deficit of $695.9 billion.

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