US trade deficit narrows 5.7% in March. | CountingPips Forex & Currency Trading Blog

May 9, 2008 - Forex Economic News

US trade deficit narrows 5.7% in March.

The United States trade deficit narrowed more than expected as it decreased 5.7 percent in March according to a release by the Commerce Department today. The U.S. trade deficit registered $58.2 billion in March following a revised deficit of $61.7 billion in February. Market forecasts were expecting a deficit of approximately $61.4 billion for March. The U.S. had a total of $148.5 billion worth of exports in March which was a decrease of $2.6 billion from February's total. This 1.7 percent decrease was the first decline in exports in twelve months. March also saw a decrease in imports as it totaled $206.7 billion worth of imports compared with $212.8 billion in February for a 2.9 percent decline. The imports decline marked the biggest monthly fall since December of 2001 with imports of oil contributing largely with a decrease of 5.9 percent for the month.

The U.S. dollar has been mixed in forex market trading today. The dollar has gained against the British pound while losing ground to the Japanese yen, European euro, Canadian dollar and Swiss franc.

Tags: trade balance, us deficit, usd, dollar, imports, exports

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