The Nation’s international trade deficit in goods and services increased to $49.9 billion in June 2010 from $42.0 billion (revised) in May, as exports decreased and imports increased.
The $7.9 billion increase in the deficit is the largest month-to-month increase since goods and services were combined into a single data series in 1992. The petroleum deficit of $21.2 billion accounted for just 42.5% of the goods and services deficit in June, the smallest percentage since it was 40.4% in January 2009.
The drop in exports was driven by seasonal adjustments. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, goods exports rose $1.4 billion. However, adjustments to certain commodity categories, such as civilian aircraft and semiconductors, reduced exports. In other words, seasonal patterns would tell us to expect exports to increase from May to June, but the actual increase was not enough to compensate for these seasonal effects.
Imports were up $5.9 billion to $200.3 billion, despite a drop of $0.9 billion in petroleum imports. Imports of Consumer Goods reached a record high of $43.1 billion in June, led by pharmaceutical goods and other household goods (including cellphones). Petroleum imports of $26.7 billion accounted for 13.3% of total imports, the lowest percentage since August 2009 (13.1%).
