Washington, May 3 (IANS/EFE) The US trade deficit declined by 11 percent in March to $38.8 billion due to a drop in crude oil imports, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
Imports fell overall by 2.8 percent to $223.1 billion, the largest decrease since 2009.
Exports, meanwhile, were down 0.9 percent to $184.3 billion, due to a drop in sales of machine parts, computers and farm products.
The US trade deficit ran at an annual rate of $507.7 billion in the first quarter, compared to last year’s deficit of $539.5 billion.
The March deficit figure marked the second sharp drop in the US trade deficit in the past four months.
Many economists were surprised by the 11 percent decline, having forecast a slight decrease to roughly $42 billion.
The bigger-than-expected decline will likely have an impact on final first-quarter GDP figures, which are expected to be revised upward after an initial estimate of a 2.5 percent rise.
The drop in crude oil imports – which averaged 7 million barrels per day, the lowest level since 1996 – was a key factor in the narrower trade gap.
That figure reflects growing domestic oil and natural gas output.
The smaller trade deficit is a positive sign for the US economy, which has recovered slowly from the 2008-09 global recession.
–IANS/EFE
rd
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by authors, news service providers on this page do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Hill Post. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual.
Hill Post makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site page.
