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Economy in Brief
U.S. Index of Leading Indicators Fell Again in July
The Conference Board's Composite Leading Economic Indicators Index fell 0.4% m/m...
U.S. Philly Fed General Activity Index Back to Positive Reading in August
The current general activity diffusion index rose nearly 19 points in August to 6.2...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Slightly Lower
Initial claims for unemployment insurance went down 2,000 in the week ended August 13 to 250,000...
Inflation Rages in EMU and Hovers Globally
Inflation in the European Monetary Union in July finalizes at 8.8% year-over-year...
U.S. Retail Sales Hold Steady in July; Nonauto Sales Rise
Total retail sales remained unchanged during July (10.3% y/y)...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller September 11, 2007
The U.S. foreign trade deficit narrowed very slightly in July to $59.2B from a little revised $59.4B in June. The figure was quite near Consensus expectations for a deficit of $59.0B. While only a small improvement, the average deficit of $59.4 during the last eight months compares to an average of $64.8B during the prior twelve.
Much of the narrowing of the deficit owes to strength in U.S. exports which rose 2.7% (14.8% y/y). Exports of non-auto consumer goods rose 4.2% (13.2% y/y) while exports of capital goods surged 5.3% (13.8% y/y). Advanced technology goods exports slipped 8.6% but the y/y gain of 13.2% suggests some strength. Exports of autos and products rose 14.6% m/m and a blazing 20.9% y/y.
Overall imports rose 1.6% but imports of nonpetroleum products rose 1.6% (4.3%% y/y). The slower gain versus exports is clearly due to the relative performance of the U.S. (weak) and foreign (strong) economies. Imports of nonauto consumer goods increased 1.1% (7.5% y/y) while capital goods imports slipped 0.3% (+5.4% y/y). Imports of advanced technology products fell 1.6% (+12.2% y/y).
The value of petroleum product imports fell 3.4% (-3.8% y/y) but the price of Brent crude oil rose to $75.9.
The U.S. trade deficit in goods with China deepened sharply m/m to $23.8B and versus a deficit of $19.6 the prior July.
Foreign Trade | July | June | Y/Y | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Trade Deficit | $59.2B | $59.4B | $67.6B (7/06) |
$758.5 | $714.4B | $612.1B |
Exports - Goods & Services | 2.7% | 1.3% | 14.8% | 12.7% | 10.9% | 13.7% |
Imports - Goods & Services | 1.8% | 0.8% | 5.1% | 10.4% | 12.9% | 16.8% |