The U.S. international trade deficit decreased to $42.8 billion in July 2010, as exports increased and imports decreased. Exports increased $2.8 billion to $153.3 billion and imports decreased $4.2 billion to $196.1 billion. The $7.0 billion drop in the deficit is the largest since a $9.7 billion drop from January to February 2009.

For the second straight month, there was a large change in the trade balance despite comparatively stable petroleum imports. Last month (June 2010) saw a $7.9 billion increase in the deficit despite a 3.3% drop in petroleum imports. This month, the trade deficit improved despite petroleum imports holding steady at $26.8 billion. A drop of $0.7 billion in crude oil was offset by increases in fuel oil and other petroleum products.

After reaching a record high $43.1 billion in June, imports of Consumer Goods dropped $1.9 billion to $41.2 billion in July.

The increase in exports was driven by civilian aircraft, up $1.4 billion to $3.6 billion in July.

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the new searchable database of economic indicator data produced by the U.S. Census Bureau. It currently contains data on international trade; manufacturer’s shipments, inventories and orders; and quarterly services, with plans to expand to include all Census Bureau economic indicators.