U.S. Trade Deficit Widens To Largest Since October 2022
(RTTNews) - With the value of imports jumping by much more than the value of exports, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing the U.S. trade deficit widened significantly in the month of April.
The Commerce Department said the trade deficit surged to $74.6 billion in April from a downwardly revised $68.6 billion in March.
Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $76.1 billion from the $69.4 billion originally reported for the previous month.
While narrower than expected, the trade deficit in April marked the largest since the gap reached $75.3 billion in October 2022.
The increase in the size of the trade deficit came as the value of imports shot up by 2.4 percent to $338.2 billion in April after slumping by 1.5 percent to $330.2 billion in March.
The rebound in the value of imports partly reflected a sharp increase in imports of automotive vehicles, parts, and engines.
Imports of capital goods, such as computer accessories and telecom equipment, and industrial suppliers and materials, including crude oil, also saw notable growth.
Meanwhile, the report said the value of exports climbed by 0.8 percent to $263.7 billion in April after tumbling by 1.7 percent to $261.6 billion in March.
Increases in exports of capital goods and pharmaceuticals were partly offset by a decrease in exports of industrial supplies and materials.
The Commerce Department also said the goods deficit widened to $99.2 billion in April from $93.3 billion in March, while the services surplus narrowed to $24.7 billion in April from $24.8 billion in March.
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