US' international trade deficit rises to $100.6 bn in May 2024

The US international trade deficit increased to $100.6 billion in May, rising by $2.7 billion from April's deficit of $98.0 billion, according to advance statistics released by the US Census Bureau. This increase is attributed to a decline in both exports and imports of goods for the month.

Exports of goods for May were reported at $166.7 billion, reflecting a decrease of $4.6 billion from April's exports. Meanwhile, imports of goods for May were $267.3 billion, down $2 billion from the previous month.

Wholesale inventories for May, adjusted for seasonal variations and trading day differences but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $901.6 billion. This marks a 0.6 per cent increase from April 2024, though it represents a 0.5 per cent decrease from May 2023. The percentage change from March 2024 to April 2024 was revised from an initial estimate of 0.1 per cent to 0.2 per cent, as per the bureau.

Retail inventories for May, also adjusted for seasonal variations and trading day differences but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $796.8 billion. This indicates a 0.7 per cent rise from April 2024 and a 5.0 per cent increase from May 2023. The March 2024 to April 2024 percentage change remained unrevised from the preliminary estimate of a 0.7 per cent increase.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)