WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters): The US trade deficit narrowed more than expected in June as petroleum imports dropped to a 3-1/2 year low, suggesting that trade was less of a drag on second-quarter economic growth than initially thought.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday the trade gap dropped 7.0 per cent to $41.5 billion, the lowest reading since January. May's trade deficit was revised up to $44.7 billion.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected the deficit to widen slightly to $44.7 billion in June from a previously reported $44.4 billion shortfall in May.
When adjusted for inflation, the deficit narrowed to $48.8 billion from $52.0 billion in May.
June's overall trade deficit was far smaller than what the government had assumed in its first snapshot of second-quarter gross domestic product published last week. That suggests the GDP growth estimate for the quarter could be revised up.
Trade subtracted 0.61 percentage point from growth in the April-June period. The economy expanded at a 4.0 per cent annual rate during that quarter after shrinking 2.1 per cent in the first three months of the year.
In June, imports fell 1.2 per cent, the largest drop in a year, to $237.4 billion. That came as petroleum imports declined to $27.4 billion, the lowest level since November 2010, from $28.3 billion in May.
US trade deficit narrows
FE Team | Published: August 07, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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