The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record-high in March, signalling an increase in imports as companies dependent on foreign products to meet strong domestic demand.
- The gap in goods and services traded expanded 22.3% to $109.8 billion. The average estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists expected a $107.1 billion deficit.
- In Q1, the widening of the trade deficit was largely attributable to the economy’s worse performance since the pandemic recovery.
- The value of imports of goods and services jumped 10.3% in March to $351.5 billion and exports rose 5.6% to $241.7 billion.
- U.S. merchandise imports expanded 12% to a record $298.8 billion, signalling an increase in the value of industrial supplies that include petroleum.
On an inflation-adjusted basis, the March merchandise-trade deficit grew 18.9% to a record $137.8 billion.
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Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis.
