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Economy in Brief
EMU Sector Bifurcation Continues
Services are continuing to move higher boosting the composite private sector index. But manufacturing remains weak...
U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Remain Unchanged
The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic
Indicators held steady (2.5% y/y) during May following a 0.1% April rise,
revised from 0.2%...
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index Weakens
Considerably
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported that its
General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index declined to 0.3 in June after
May's improvement to 16.6...
U.S. Current Account Deficit Shrinks; Exports Rise and
Imports Fall
The U.S. current account deficit narrowed to $130.4 billion
during Q1'19 from $143.9 billion during Q4'18...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Edge Down
Initial unemployment insurance claims decreased to 216,000 in the week ended June 15...
Special Topics
by Tom Moeller September 19, 2018
The U.S. current account deficit fell to $101.5 billion during Q2 2018 from $121.7 billion in Q1. It was the smallest deficit since Q4 2015 and compared to $103.5 billion expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. As a percent of GDP, the deficit declined to 2.0% from 2.4%.
The smaller deficit last quarter was partly due to a shallower $203.2 billion shortfall on goods trade. Goods exports increased 4.3%, while goods imports held steady.
Additionally, the surplus on services trade increased to a record $69.3 billion. Services exports rose 1.5%. Telecommunications, computer & information services exports gained 2.5% (8.2% y/y). Exports of intellectual property rights rose 1.8% (6.1% y/y) while travel exports rose 0.6% (2.7% y/y). Services imports gained 0.4%. Charges for intellectual property declined 1.5% (-11.5% y/y) and travel imports increased 0.1% (6.2% y/y). Telecommunications, computer & information services imports rose 1.7% (5.5% y/y).
The surplus on primary income eased to $60.8 billion, but remained near the record high. The deficit on secondary income also slipped to $28.5, and remained narrower y/y.
From the capital account, the deficit on foreign direct investment shrank to $29.1 billion. This year's deficits compare to surpluses through most of the post-war period.
Balance of Payments data are in Haver's USINT database, with summaries available in USECON. The expectations figure is in the AS1REPNA database.
| US Balance of Payments SA | Q2'18 | Q1'18 | Q4'17 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Account Balance ($ Billion) | -101.5 | -121.7 | -116.1 | -449.1 | -432.9 | -409.8 |
| Deficit % of GDP | -2.0 | -2.4 | -2.3 | -2.3 | -2.3 | -2.2 |
| Balance on Goods ($ Billion) | -203.2 | -220.8 | -212.4 | -807.5 | -751.1 | -761.9 |
| Exports | 4.3% | 2.4% | 3.6% | 6.6% | -3.6% | -7.6% |
| Imports | 0.0% | 2.9% | 5.1% | 6.9% | -2.9% | -4.7% |
| Balance on Services ($ Billion) | 69.3 | 66.8 | 64.6 | 255.2 | 249.1 | 263.3 |
| Exports | 1.5% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 5.1% | 0.5% | 1.9% |
| Imports | 0.4% | -0.2% | 1.6% | 6.4% | 3.6% | 2.3% |
| Balance on Primary Income ($ Billion) | 60.8 | 61.2 | 62.4 | 221.7 | 193.0 | 203.6 |
| Balance on Secondary Income ($ Billion) | -28.5 | -28.9 | -30.7 | -118.6 | -123.9 | -112.8 |
