US trade deficit falls as both exports and imports decline in October

US trade deficit falls as both exports and imports decline in October
Economics
Webp om500yflz6jffh6yczfdid88u5rq
Vipin Arora Director of U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis | Official Website

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.