The reading on international trade, known as the U.S. trade deficit to those who have been watching the reading since the 1980s and 1990s, came in at -$48.3 billion in the month of August. Bloomberg was calling for -$48.6 billion, and the pool of economists from Econoday had a range of estimates as -$50.2 billion to -$41.0 billion.
August’s reading was up $6.5 billion from the revised -$41.8 billion reading from July. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said that August’s exports were down $3.7 billion in July at $185.1 billion, and August’s imports were up $2.8 billion from July at $233.4 billion.
Tuesday’s report said:
The August increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $6.6 billion to $67.9 billion and an increase in the services surplus of $0.1 billion to $19.6 billion. … Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit increased $17.6 billion, or 5.2 percent, from the same period in 2014. Exports decreased $58.9 billion or 3.8 percent. Imports decreased $41.3 billion or 2.2 percent.
What is interesting here is that Bloomberg indicated the iPhone helped to drive the deficit higher. A look at the BEA data showed that imports of goods on a Census basis increased $3.3 billion, with consumer goods increasing $4.0 billion — cell phones and other household goods increased by $2.1 billion.
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The deficit with China increased $4.2 billion to $32.9 billion in August. The deficit with the European Union increased $2.1 billion to $14.5 billion in August. Here is a country breakdown basis for U.S. trade partner nations with surpluses, in billions of dollars: South and Central America ($3.3) and OPEC ($1.0).
Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, as follows:
- China ($32.9)
- European Union ($14.5)
- Germany ($6.8)
- Mexico ($5.3)
- Japan ($5.2)
- South Korea ($2.7)
- Canada ($2.2
- Italy ($2.1)
- France ($2.0)
- India ($1.9)
- United Kingdom ($0.3)
- Brazil ($0.2)
- Saudi Arabia (less than $0.1)
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