U.S. trade deficit down slightly in June

The U.S. trade deficit declined by 0.3 percent in June as record sales of U.S. farm products and other exports blunted the impact of soaring crude oil prices, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday.

The report said the U.S. trade deficit declined to 64.8 billion U.S. dollars in June from the revised deficit of 64.97 billion dollars in May, which is 1.1 billion dollars higher than the initial estimate reported a month ago.

U.S. exports increased by a solid 2 percent to a record high of 120.7 billion dollars in June, resulting partly from a record sales of farm products and strong gains in other areas.

Imports also rose to a record high of 185.5 billion dollars in June, an increase of 1.2 percent from the previous month as shipments of consumer goods set a record and auto imports climbed to the second highest level on record.

The average price for a barrel of imported crude oil hit an all-time high of 62.04 dollars in June, pushing total crude oil imports to a record high of 20.5 billion dollars in the month. All imports of oil and oil products totaled 27.3 billion dollars in the month, the second highest level on record after May's 28.3 billion dollars.

Through the first half of this year, the U.S. trade deficit is running at an annual rate of 768 billion dollars, putting it on track to surpass the record high of 716.7 billion dollars set last year.

Source: Xinhua