WASHINGTON, Aug 4 The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in June, but the trend is unlikely to be sustained amid an artificial intelligence buildout that is heavily reliant on imports.
Both imports and exports declined in June, the report from the Commerce Department showed on Tuesday
The government last week estimated that the trade gap subtracted a full percentage point from gross domestic product growth in the second quarter. “June’s report showed a welcome narrowing in the trade gap,” said Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. “We still see net exports subtracting from GDP growth in the couple of quarters ahead.” The trade shortfall contracted 5.6% to $73.3 billion, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the deficit at $73.0 billion. Exports slipped 0.9% to $314.7 billion.
Goods exports declined 1.9% to $206.9 billion. They were weighed down by a $3.3 billion decline in exports of industrial supplies and materials, which include petroleum. Crude oil exports fell $5.7 billion, reflecting a decline in the average price.