Washington [US], September 5: The US trade deficit widened sharply in July as record inflows of capital and other goods boosted imports, a trend that if sustained could see trade subtracting from gross domestic product in the third quarter.
The trade gap ballooned 32.5% to $78.3 billion, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the deficit rising to $75.7 billion.
Trade subtracted a record 4.61 percentage points from GDP in the first quarter before sharply reversing and adding 4.95 percentage points in the April-June quarter, also the largest contribution on record.
The economy grew at a 3.3% annualised rate last quarter after contracting at a 0.5% pace in the first three months of the year. The Atlanta Federal Reserve is currently forecasting GDP increasing at a 3.0% rate this quarter.
Imports soared 5.9% to $358.8 billion. Goods imports vaulted 6.9% to $283.3 billion. They were boosted by a $12.5 billion surge in imports of industrial supplies and materials, which reflected a $9.6 billion increase in nonmonetary gold.
Source: Emirates News Agency
