WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit has gone on a diet, helped by strong exports of farm products and manufactured goods and by Americans’ spending less as the economy limps along. The deficit in June fell 4.1 percent to $56.8 billion.
That’s the lowest level in three months and a surprise to economists, who had expected an increase reflecting a big surge in oil prices during the month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
While oil prices did rise to a record level, exports of everything from soybeans and corn to aircraft engines and heavy machinery surged by the largest amount in four years, offsetting the rising oil bill.
The better-than-expected June performance left analysts revising up their estimates for overall economic growth in the April-June quarter to as much as 3 percent.
Over the past four quarters, trade has been the economy’s standout performer. It has contributed four-fifths of what little growth there has been while the country has been battered by the housing slump, a credit crisis, rising unemployment and soaring energy costs. The Associated Press
