Briefing.com: Trade Balance

Updated: 06-Dec-18 09:55 ET

October Trade Balance

Updated: 06-Dec-18 09:55 ET

Highlights

The U.S. trade deficit was $55.5 billion in October (Briefing.com consensus -$54.7 billion) versus a downwardly revised $54.6 billion (from -$54.0 billion) in September.

Key Factors

Exports in October were $0.3 billion less than September exports. That downturn was driven by a $0.7 billion decrease in exports of foods, feeds, and beverages, and a $0.5 billion decrease in exports of capital goods.
Imports in October were $0.6 billion more than September imports. The increase was driven by a $2 billion increase in consumer goods, the bulk of which flowed from a $1.5 billion increase in pharmaceutical preparations. Capital goods imports decreased by $3.2 billion.
The deficit with China increased $0.7 billion in October to $38.2 billion. In the third quarter, the goods and services deficit with China increased $10.3 billion to $95.9 billion.
The real trade deficit in October was $87.88 billion, up 3.0% from the third quarter average, which will be viewed as a negative input for Q4 real GDP forecasts.

Big Picture

The key takeaway from the report is that it doesn't reflect any improvement in the U.S trade deficit despite the tariff actions. The goods and services deficit has increased by $51.3 billion year-to-date, or 11.4%, from the same period in 2017.