The US trade deficit widened in July amid a record surge in imports and rising trade volume, government data showed on Thursday in a fresh sign the economy is emerging from recession.
The Commerce Department reported the trade gap jumped to US$32 billion, from a revised US$27.5 billion in June and eclipsing the average analyst forecast of US$27.4 billion.
The trade shortfall was 16.3 percent higher than the previous month, the largest percentage increase in more than 10 years.
The report added to recent signs of a nascent recovery in the world’s largest economy and around the world from the worst downturn in six decades.
“We are seeing steady growth in exports, suggesting that we are moving into a synchronized global expansion,” said Brian Bethune of IHS Global Insight.
Imports rose 4.7 percent to US$159.6 billion, the highest monthly increase since the Commerce Department began publishing the data in 1992. Exports rose to US$127.6 billion, a 3.2 percent increase from June that was the strongest gain since May last year.
The US trade gap had fallen in May to the lowest level since November 1999 as the global economic crisis strangled trade flows. In July, the trade deficit was 47 percent below the year-ago level.
The politically sensitive trade deficit with China widened sharply, as imports increased by the strongest pace since November last year, pushing the gap up US$2 billion to US$20.4 billion.
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