U.S. trade deficit in goods climbs 3.5% in August

he U.S. trade deficit in goods rose 3.5% in August to a record $82.9 billion, reflecting a sluggish rebound in exports that’s weighing on the broader economy and could slow the recovery from the coronavirus.

Economists polled by MarketWatch has forecast a small decline in the trade gap.

Imports of foreign goods such as autos and consumer goods climbed 3.1% in August to $201.3 billion and returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The same can’t be said for exports. They rose 2.8% in August to $118.3 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday, but are still down about 13% compared to just before the pandemic struck.
The advanced report only includes goods. Services such as travel and tourism aren’t included until the full report that gets released next week. Services have been hurt even worse with few people flying and traveling to other countries.

A larger trade deficit subtracts from gross domestic product, the official scorecard for the U.S. economy.

An advanced look at wholesale inventories, meanwhile, showed a 0.5% increase in August. And an early look at retail inventories pointed to a 0.8% gain.