imports

Trade Deficit Drops -10.7% to $42.9 Billion for June 2012

The U.S. June 2012 monthly trade deficit declined $5.12 billion to $42.924 billion. This is a -10.66% monthly decrease in the trade deficit, mainly due to increased exports. Exports increased $1.666 billion, or +9.09%. Imports declined $3.454 billion, a -1.49% decrease from May and mainly due to lower crude oil prices. This is the smallest monthly trade deficit in 18 months.

 

Trade Deficit for May 2012 - $48.7 Billion

The U.S. May 2012 monthly trade deficit declined $1.91 billion to $48.68 billion. This is a 3.78% monthly decrease in the trade deficit, all due to reduced imports. Exports decreased $359 million, or -0.20%. Imports declined $1.55 billion, which is a -0.67% decrease from April. The decline in oil prices is the reason the trade deficit shrank for the month.

 

Trade Deficit for March 2012 - $51.8 Billion, Little Effect on Q1 GDP Revision

The U.S. March 2012 trade deficit jumped $6.41 billion to $51.83 billion in a month. This is a 14.1% monthly increase in the trade deficit. Exports increased $5.28 billion, a 2.9% increase from last month. Imports increased $11.69 billion, which is a 5.15% increase from February.

 

2011 Annual Trade Deficit is 3.7% of U.S. GDP, China Goods 2% of U.S. GDP

The annual trade data out of the December trade report has some shocking results.  The 2011 trade deficit increased 11.6% from 2010.  As a percentage of GDP the trade deficit is returning to pre-recession levels.  The trade deficit is now 3.7% of U.S. GDP, up from 3.4% in 2010.  The worst was 2006, when the soaring out of balance, trade deficit was 5.6% of GDP. Below is a graph of the U.S. trade deficit as a percentage of U.S. annual nominal GDP.

 

trade deficit as gdp

 

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