The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $78.8 billion in July, up $5.8 billion from a revised figure of $73.0 billion in June.
In July, exports were valued at $266.6 billion, an increase of $1.3 billion from June's figures. Imports stood at $345.4 billion, up by $7.1 billion compared to the previous month.
The rise in the goods and services deficit for July was attributed to a $5.6 billion increase in the goods deficit, reaching $103.1 billion, coupled with a slight decrease of $0.2 billion in the services surplus, which now stands at $24.3 billion.
Year-to-date comparisons reveal that the goods and services deficit has grown by $36.2 billion or 7.7 percent compared to the same period in 2023, with exports rising by $65.9 billion (3.7 percent) and imports increasing by $102.1 billion (4.5 percent).
A three-month moving average shows that the average goods and services deficit increased by $1.3 billion to reach $75.7 billion for the three months ending in July.
In terms of specific categories, exports of goods saw an increase of $0.7 billion to reach a total of $175.1 billion in July while exports of services rose by $0.6 billion to hit $91.5 billion.
Imports experienced significant growth as well; imports of goods climbed by $6.4 billion to reach a total of $278.2 billion in July, while imports of services increased by approximately $0.8 billion to stand at $67.2 million.
Notable changes within these categories include a decrease in automotive vehicles ($1.7 million) and consumer goods such as gem diamonds ($0 .7 million). Conversely, capital goods like semiconductors saw an uptick ($1 .8 million).
Regarding trade balances with selected countries, notable surpluses were recorded with nations such as Netherlands ($4 .7), South and Central America ($4 .2), Hong Kong ($1 .8), Australia ($1 .5), Belgium ($1 .0), Brazil ($0 .8), and United Kingdom ($0 .8). However significant deficits were observed with China ($27 .2), European Union (18.$4 ), Mexico($13.$6 ), Vietnam($9.$5 ), Taiwan($8.$3 ), Germany($7.$7 ), Canada($7.$6 ), Ireland($6 .$ 6 ) South Korea($5 .$ 7 ) Japan($5 .$ 4 ) Italy($3 .$ 6 ) India(3 .$ 3 ) Switzerland(3 .$ 2 ) Singapore(1 .$ 6) Malaysia(1 .$ 5 ) France(12$.) Israel($.04) Saudi Arabia (less than $.01).
Revisions have been made to export and import data from January through June 2024 based on more comprehensive quarterly data updates.