Trade Deficit in U.S. Unexpectedly Widens

Source: Bloomberg

Aug 11, 2011 10:02 AM ET

The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly increased in June to the highest level since October 2008 as a slump in exports exceeded a decline in shipments from overseas.

The gap widened 4.4 percent to $53.1 billion from $50.8 billion in the prior month, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The deficit exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg News survey of economists in which the median was $48 billion. Exports declined the most since January 2009.

U.S. shipments of capital equipment and industrial supplies fell in June, which may reflect the start of a cooling in the global economy. Some companies like Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) remain optimistic that demand for American-made goods will be sustained, helped in part by a weaker dollar.

“The real weakness was in exports and that’s consistent with slower growth in the rest of the world,” said Jay Bryson, a global economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. “The contribution of exports is going to be a little more shaky” in terms of growth, he said.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-11/trade-deficit-of-u-s-unexpectedly-widens-to-53-1-billion-on-export-slump.html

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"Unexpectedly"

These must be the same people who proclaim month after month that the unemployment numbers are "unexpected".

:eyes:

you beat me to you. Its always surprising, below analyst expectations, unexpected, unanticipated decline, etc etc. I am sure these are the same idiots rating our credit worthiness. Btw, its not that I need a credit agency to tell me that its is mighty risky loaning money to a country who needs even more loans to pay off his interest on already borrowed money.

The chicken littles and gold bugs maybe right after all, buy gold, buy physical assets and hope its not too late to jump off the ship

These idiots are like weathermen, they can be wrong 100% of the time and still remain employed. The rest of us should be so lucky!!!

:-(

nt

It is just like, we did not know the unemployment would
be as bad as it is.

It was predicted just following 2006, 2006 2006 election
()I believe that was when GWB won a second term) that
we would have 40 MILLION 40 Million 40 Million, Job
Dislocations as a result of bad trade policy, bad trade
Policy. In some instance Technolical advances.



Now if our elected officials to ignore the report made at that time
by Sommers, Blinder,Rubin, be honest and say we chose not
to believe it.


We knew.

For Gosh sakes, now do not make matters worse. I hear them
trying to say technology. IF THEY CONTINUE TRADE POLICIES
with no restructuring of our economy, the have decided to
make us a banana republic for sure.

Garbage in, garbage out.

help. I look around my home and it is filled with this kind of junk - nic-nacs, picture frames, throw pillows, lawn decorations, etc. If we want these items we should buy American. Of course anything we can buy American helps.

I was thinking in basic needs such as toilet paper, soaps etc. Would it work to starve the beast or would they just stop making those things anywhere?

it because if I can buy some of that junk at a rummage sale for $.25 why not?

I thought a lot of our paper products are made in America? Sappi is a corporation in our community and they used to make toilet paper.

<shaking head>