The United States trade deficit soared in September, increasing much more than expected, under the cumulative effect of a drop in exports and an increase in imports, according to data released Tuesday by the department of Commerce. The deficit in goods and services with the rest of the world reached 84.4 billion dollars in September, up 19.2% compared to August, a much more marked increase than expected by analysts who instead forecast a deficit of 74 billion according to the consensus published by briefing.com.
Over one year, the American trade deficit also increased to 11.8% in September, or $69.6 billion more, the Commerce Department also said, this time due to a more marked increase in imports. than exports, a sign that American household consumption remains strong. In September, exports of goods fell by $3.2 billion, while exports of services were almost stable compared to the previous month.
China in first position by country
On the goods side, the decline concerns almost all of the country’s main industries, while services saw a slight drop in maintenance and repair, offset by an equivalent increase in government goods and services as well as transport. For imports, the increase primarily concerns goods, which increased by $10.9 billion, while services fell slightly, by $600 million.
Americans overall purchased more imported vehicles, pharmaceutical products, computers and semiconductors but traveled less abroad. For goods, the geographic distribution of the trade deficit remains generally unchanged, the largest still being linked to trade with China, at $26.9 billion, up significantly over one month.
The European Union (EU) still remains in second position, with an American trade deficit of 23.8 billion dollars, once again increasing quite markedly, and which is again concentrated on the same four countries: Germany, France, Ireland and Italy. The surplus, however, is widening in trade with the Netherlands. Finally, the deficits with Mexico and Vietnam were still the main ones in August outside China and the EU, and were also up compared to the previous month.
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