U.S. Trade Deficit Shrinks in May Amid Surge in Exports

Cargo containers sit idle at the Port of Los Angeles as a back-log of over 30 container ships sit anchored outside the Port in Los Angeles, California, February 18, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

The U.S. trade deficit shrunk to $64.8 billion in May, as a surge in exports sliced $2.5 billion off of the $67.3 billion in April. That’s far more narrow than the $68.8 billion expected in May, fueled by a surge in exports.

Exports of goods for May came in at $143.6 billion, a whopping $2.9 billion more than April exports. Imports of goods for May were $208.4 billion, only $0.4 billion more than April imports.

Wholesale inventories for May, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $633.2 billion, up 0.5% from April 2018 and 5.9% from May 2017. The March 2018 to April 2018 percentage change was unrevised from the preliminary estimate of up 0.1%.

Retail inventories for May, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $635.5 billion, up 0.4% from April 2018, and were up 2.3% from May 2017. The March 2018 to April 2018 percentage change was unrevised from the preliminary estimate of up 0.5%.