Recent Updates
- US: Business Formation Statistics, Producer Prices (Jul)
- US: Business Formation Statistics by State (Jul)
- US: National Delinquency Survey (Q2)
- US: 1ST Time Housing Affordability (Q2)
- US: Producer Price Indexes Detail by Commodity Detail (Jul)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. CPI Unchanged in July with Drop in Energy Prices
Consumer prices were unchanged in July after an outsized 1.3% m/m jump in June...
U.S. Federal Government Budget Deficit Shrinks in July
The U.S. Treasury Department reported a federal budget deficit of $211.1 billion in July...
U.S. Mortgage Applications Rose Slightly in the Latest Week
Mortgage applications increased 0.2% (-62.9% y/y) from one week earlier...
German Inflation Rises
The German inflation rate as measured by the HICP accelerated to 8.4% in July...
U.S. Productivity Declines in Q2, Pushing Unit Labor Costs Higher
Nonfarm business sector productivity fell 4.6% (AR) during Q2'22...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller March 16, 2005
The US current account deficit deepened in 4Q04 to a record $187.9B. Consensus expectations had been for a deficit of $183.0B. The figure pulled the full year deficit to $665.9B, 5.7% of GDP.
The deficit in merchandise trade deteriorated to $183.5B from a revised $167.0B in 3Q. Import growth of 5.4% (20.2% y/y) easily surpassed the strength of exports which grew 1.7% (11.6% y/y).
The surplus on services improved slightly to $12.5B from $11.2B in 3Q. The annual surplus of $48.4B in services trade was, however, barely half the peak in 1997 of $89.9B. Exports of services grew 2.6% in 4Q (7.2% y/y and imports rose 1.2% (10.9% y/y).
From the capital account, US foreign direct investment abroad surged to $101.3B, nearly double the 4Q03 level, and foreign direct investment in the US rose 1.3% to $36.3B, more than triple the 4Q03 level. The deficit of $65B pulled the full year deficit to $133B, about the same as during 2003.
Federal Reserve Board Governor Ben S. Bernanke's speech titled The Global Saving Glut and the U.S. Current Account Deficit can be found here.
US Int'l Balance of Payments | 4Q '04 | 3Q '04 | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Current Account Deficit | $187.9B | $165.9B | $127.0B | $665.9B | $530.7B | $473.9B |
Goods/Services/Income Deficit | $168.9B | $151.0B | $109.3B | $593.0B | $463.2B | $414.6B |
Exports | 4.6% | 2.7% | 13.6% | 15.3% | 5.8% | -3.9% |
Imports | 6.6% | 2.8% | 23.3% | 18.6% | 7.3% | 1.5% |
Unilateral Transfers Deficit | $19.0B | $14.9B | $17.6B | $72.9B | $67.4B | $59.4B |