Trade Deficit Widens In April

The nation's goods deficit widened to $57.5 billion in April vs a revised $55.6 billion in March, results that point to a widening for the overall trade deficit which will be reported next week. But the results do point to improvement in cross-border demand with exports up 1.8 percent in the month and imports up 2.3 percent.

Exports of industrial supplies rose 5.1 percent reflecting in part higher prices for petroleum-based products. But exports of autos show special strength, up 4.5 percent, with exports of consumer goods up 1.0 percent. Foods also show strength, up 4.4 percent in the month. Exports of capital goods remain soft, at only plus 0.3 percent.

Imports show special strength led, in contrast to exports, by capital goods which jumped 4.3 percent in the month. Industrial supplies, again reflecting higher oil costs, rose 4.0 percent with imports of autos up 1.9 percent. Imports of consumer goods, a key category, were up a more moderate but still respectable 0.9 percent.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
The trade deficit in goods, pushed higher by oil prices, is expected to widen to $60.2 billion in April from $56.9 billion in March. But the narrower gap in March did not reflect economic strength as both exports of goods and imports of goods fell, especially imports of consumer goods. The April report will offer the goods inputs into the monthly international trade report (released Friday, June 3).