US goods trade deficit narrows in June

THE US trade deficit in goods narrowed in June as exports rebounded, but trade likely remained a drag on economic growth in the second quarter.

The goods trade gap contracted 2.5 per cent to US$96.8 billion, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Wednesday (Jul 24). The deficit widened in the prior two months.

The government is scheduled to publish its advance estimate of second-quarter GDP growth on Thursday. Gross domestic product likely increased at a 2.0 per cent annualised rate last quarter, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

Trade subtracted from GDP in the first quarter, with the economy growing at 1.4 per cent pace during that period. REUTERS