The sharp rise in the US trade gap in June was evidence that while demand in the US economy has so far help up reasonably well, a disturbing amount of it is leaking abroad.
The rise in the monthly trade deficit to $49.9bn, which is higher than analysts’ expectations, reflected a surge in imports of consumer goods and cars. Imports of capital goods, which is used in industrial production, also rose, but raw materials and components fell.
In a preliminary estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product released on July 30, which indicated that the expansion in GDP slowing sharply, net exports subtracted an annualised 2.8% points from economic growth.