US Trade Gap Narrows

According to the Commerce Department, imports still outnumbered exports in April 2011 by $43.7 billion, but that is better than the revised $46.8 billion trade deficit in March. Part of this may be due to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, as imports of automotive vehicles, parts, and engines fell 12.9% in April, about $2.8 billion, from March. Overall, imports fell about 0.4% in April, to $219.2 billion from $220.2 billion in March, as exports rose 1.3% to $175.6 billion. April exports of goods ($126.4 billion, up from $124.5 billion in March) and exports of services ($49.1 billion, up from $48.9 billion in March) were the highest on record. The top five US trading partners were: Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, and Germany.

Also of note, US oil imports dropped by 42 billion barrels in April, in large part due to high oil prices. Petroleum imports totaled $36.005 billion, down from $38.083 billion. The April import average price per barrel of crude oil ($103.18) was the highest since September 2008 ($107.30).