The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported a decrease in the goods and services deficit for October 2024, which stood at $73.8 billion. This represents a $10 billion reduction from September's revised figure of $83.8 billion.
In terms of trade activity, exports were valued at $265.7 billion, marking a decline of $4.3 billion from the previous month, while imports totaled $339.6 billion, down by $14.3 billion from September.
The overall reduction in the deficit was driven by a decrease in the goods deficit, which fell by $10.4 billion to reach $98.7 billion, along with a slight decrease in the services surplus by $0.4 billion to stand at $24.8 billion.
On a year-to-date basis, the trade deficit has increased by $80.7 billion or 12.3 percent compared to the same period last year, with exports rising by 3.7 percent ($94 billion) and imports increasing by 5.4 percent ($174.7 billion).
The three-month moving average of the goods and services deficit saw a decrease of $1.8 billion to settle at $76.1 billion for the period ending in October.
Export figures revealed that goods exports decreased by $5.3 billion to reach $170.7 billion, with notable declines seen in capital goods and automotive vehicles among others, while services exports rose slightly by $1 billion to total $95.1 billion.
On the import side, goods imports experienced a significant drop of $15.7 billion to hit $269.3 billion due primarily to reductions in capital goods and industrial supplies and materials categories; meanwhile, services imports rose modestly by $1.4 billion reaching a total of $70.2 billion.
Revisions were made for data spanning April through September 2024 based on updated information; this included minor downward adjustments for September’s exports and imports figures.
October also witnessed various shifts in trade balances with key international partners: surpluses were recorded with countries such as Netherlands ($4.5), while deficits continued with China ($25.5) among others.
Regarding recent developments affecting trade data compilation, delays stemming from Canada Border Services Agency's implementation of their new accounting system have been noted; these have impacted U.S.-Canada export statistics for both September and October 2024.
Looking ahead, upcoming releases will continue on schedule into next year according to outlined statistical months and dates provided.