Trade Deficit Rises in July

The US trade deficit hit a two-year high of $78.8 billion in July on a rise in imports, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.

The deficit was up by $5.8 billion, or 7.9 percent, from the $73 billion recorded in June.

July exports were $266.6 billion, $1.3 billion more than June exports. But exports were far outpaced by July imports of $345.4 billion – a $7.1 billion increase over the previous month.

The July increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $5.6 billion to $103.1 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of $200 million to $24.3 billion.

Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit increased $36.2 billion, or 7.7 percent, from the same period in 2023. Exports increased $65.9 billion or 3.7 percent and imports rose $102.1 billion or
4.5 percent.

The average goods and services deficit increased $1.3 billion to $75.7 billion for the three months ending in July. Year-over-year, the average goods and services deficit increased $10.5 billion from the three months ending in July 2023.

Exports of goods increased by $700 million to $175.1 billion in July, while services exports were up $600 million to $91.5 billion in July. Imports of goods increased $6.4 billion to $278.2 billion in July, while services imports rose by$800 million to $67.2 billion in July.

The closely-watched US trade deficit with China increased $4.9 billion to $27.2 billion in July. Exports decreased $1 billion to $11.5 billion, while imports increased $3.9 billion to $38.7 billion.

Deficits also were recorded with the European Union at $18.4 billion, Mexico $13.6 billion, Vietnam $9.5 billion, Taiwan $8.3 billion, Germany $7.7 billion, Canada $7.6 billion, Ireland $6.6 billion, South Korea $5.7 billion, Japan $5.4 billion, Italy $3.6 billion, India $3.3 billion, Switzerland $3.2 billion, Singapore $1.6 billion, Malaysia $1.5 billion, France $1.2 billion, Israel $400 million and Saudi Arabia at less than $100 million.

The United States ran trade surpluses with the Netherlands at $4.7 billion, South and Central America $4.2 billion, Hong Kong $1.8 billion, Australia $1.5 billion, Belgium $1 billion, Brazil $800 million and United Kingdom $800 million.