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August on higher exports driven by a weak dollar and lower imports
amid lacklustre domestic demand, the government said Friday. The
goods and services trade gap fell 3.6 percent to 30.7 billion
dollars from a revised 31.9 billion dollars in July, the Commerce
Department reported. Most analysts had expected the gap to widen
with a 33 billion dollar deficit on the back of a higher bill for
imported oil, due to higher prices, but oil import volume plunged. In
percentage terms, the August deficit dip was the largest recorded
since May, figures showed. Exports rose 0.2 percent to 128.2 billion
dollars while imports fell 0.6 percent to 158.9 billion dollars.
Trade has for the past year helped cushion the contraction of the US
economy, which plunged into recession in December 2007. The trade
deficit in the goods sector narrowed by two percent to 41.9 billion
dollars in August, while the surplus in services widened by 2.7
percent to 11.2 billion dollars.
