US March Trade advanced goods trade balance -$87.8B versus $-86.95 billion estimate

Prior was $-83.5 billion Details: Trade deficit widened to $87.9B in March (vs. $83.5B in February) Deficit increased by $4.4B month-over-month Exports rose to $211.5B (+$5.2B from February) Imports climbed more sharply to $299.3B (+$9.6B from February) Key takeaway: Stronger import growth outpaced export gains, leading to a wider deficit. A lower trade deficit versus last month is a boost to GDP all things equal. However the data was showing a larger trade deficit than expectations. Looking at the chart of recent data, the range has been in a sawtooth pattern over the last 6/9 months. The data are compiled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and track the movement of goods between the United States and foreign countries, including all 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Foreign Trade Zones. They include both government and private shipments but exclude certain categories such as trade with U.S. territories, military and diplomatic transactions, returned goods, personal items, and in-transit shipments. Notably, U.S. exports to Canada are estimated using Canada’s import data. For imports, values reflect the price paid for goods entering the U.S., excluding additional costs like duties, freight, and insurance. Exports are valued based on the price of goods at the U.S. port of departure, including inland transportation and related costs up to the point where the goods are loaded for shipment. In other data released by the census department: Wholesale inventories (March): $932.8B (+1.4% m/m, +2.9% y/y) Prior wholesale revision: February revised slightly higher to +0.9% (from +0.8%) Retail inventories (March): $823.5B (+0.7% m/m, +2.3% y/y) Prior retail revision: February revised up to +0.3% (from +0.2%) Key takeaway: Inventory levels continued to rise in both wholesale and retail sectors, with wholesale showing the stronger monthly build This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.