US Balance of Trade Deficit decreases in February as Imports slide. Deficit with China declines

By CountingPips.com

The United States trade deficit decreased in February as a result of lower import levels, according to a release by the Commerce Department today. The U.S. trade deficit declined by $1.2 billion in February to a total shortfall of $45.8 billion following a revised deficit of $47.0 billion in January.

The trade data was higher than the market forecasts that were expecting a deficit of approximately $44.0 billion for the month.

The lower deficit was the result of a bigger decrease in imports than in exports. Imports of goods and services fell by $3.6 billion for the month to a total of $210.9 billion. Imports had registered a total of $214.5 billion in January.

The US exported a total of $165.1 billion worth of goods and services in February which was an decrease of $2.4 billion from January’s total exports of $167.5 billion.

The politically sensitive U.S. trade deficit with China declined in February to a $18.8 billion shortfall following a deficit of $23.3 billion in January. Other notable U.S. trade deficits were with OPEC at $9.4 billion, the European Union at $6.9 billion, Mexico at $5.3 billion, Japan at $5.2 billion and Germany at $3.3 billion.

The U.S. trade surpluses with other countries for February included Hong Kong at $2.5 billion, Singapore at $0.8 billion, Australia at $1.4 billion and Egypt at $0.5 billion.