Quarterly Figure for Foreign Trade Loss Hits $30 Billion

The deficit for the broadest measure of the nation’s foreign trade increased to $30 billion from January through March, the government reported today.

The Commerce Department said the deficit on the “current account” of international transactions for the first quarter of 1985 was below the record $32.9 billion in the third quarter of 1984--but well above the revised $25.5-billion figure for the fourth quarter of last year.

That brought the 1984 total to a record $101.6 billion, more than double the old mark of $41.6 billion in 1983. Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige and private analysts have said the deficit is likely to be even larger this year.

The current account measures not only trade in merchandise but also in services, mainly the flow of investment earnings.

While the United States has not posted a merchandise trade surplus since 1975, surpluses on investment earnings were usually sufficient to cover the trade deficits.