from Statista.com
— this post authored by Felix Richter
Bucking a long-term downward trend, the U.S. trade deficit widened by 11.6 percent in March, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Tuesday. The deficit growth was driven by a decline in exports so steep that it couldn’t be offset by a similarly significant drop in imports.
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U.S. services exports, a figure that has hardly moved for the past two years, fell by more than $10 billion in March, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impact on travel and tourism. Goods exports were equally affected, however, decreasing $8.8 billion compared to February. This was partly driven by a decline in oil exports, and partly by drops in exports of automotive parts, passenger cars as well as civilian aircraft, engines and parts. Total goods exports amounted to $128.1 billion in March, while services exports stood at $59.6 billion at the end of the month.
Imports of goods also decreased by $4.7 billion in March, as demand for consumer goods plummeted in the face of financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus crisis. Imports of services dropped by $10.7 billion as fewer Americans travelled abroad.
Overall, the U.S. trade deficit climbed to $44.4 billion in March, as the COVID-19 crisis caused exports ($187.7 billion) to drop more steeply (-$20b) than imports ($232.2 billion; -$15.4b).
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