U.S. Goods Trade Deficit Increases in May
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Deficit rise follows substantial narrowing.
- Sharp export decline reverses earlier increase.
- Imports are little changed following huge decline.
The advance estimate of the U.S. international trade deficit in goods widened to $96.6 billion during May after narrowing to $87.0 billion in April. A deficit of $91.0 had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The deficit reached a record $162.0 billion in March according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Total goods exports declined 4.9% (+7.5% y/y) during May after rising for four consecutive months. Industrial supplies & materials exports weakened 13.2% (+12.8% y/y) after increasing 16.4% in April. Foods, feeds & beverage exports declined 2.3% (+3.8% y/y) following a 3.4% drop. Capital goods exports were off 3.2% (+9.7% y/y) following a 2.6% April increase. Working higher, nonauto consumer goods exports surged 11.5% in May (1.8% y/y) after a 6.4% April decline. Automobile & parts exports rose 3.6% (-13.0% y/y) following a 21.4% decline. Exports of other goods edged 0.8% higher (14.2% y/y) following a 10.9% April gain.
Total goods imports eased 0.1% during May (+3.2% y/y) after falling 19.4% in April. Nonauto consumer goods imports declined 5.8% (+3.4% y/y) after weakening 32.3% in April. Industrial supplies materials imports fell 1.9% (-10.1% y/y) after cratering 30.5% in April. Foods, feeds & beverages imports eased 0.8% (+4.6% y/y) last month, the fourth consecutive monthly decline. Moving higher, auto imports jumped 10.6% (-7.6% y/y) after an 18.1% April decline. Capital goods imports edged 0.2% higher (16.6% y/y) after falling 2.5%. Imports of other goods jumped 9.9% (11.8% y/y) following a 0.5% rise during April.
The advance international trade data can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectation figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey, which is in AS1REPNA.
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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