U.S. monthly trade deficit improves for a change - TD Bank Financial Group

ActionForex reports that analysts at TD Bank Financial Group discuss the U.S. Trade Balance report for April.

"The U.S. trade deficit decreased to $68.9 billion in April from $75.0 billion in March. Total exports (goods and services) increased by 1.1% (+7.5% in March), while imports went down by 1.4% (+7.1% in March)."

"Goods exports increased by 1.1% in April (+10.1% in March). Capital goods (4.9%), foods, feeds & beverages (2.0%) and industrial supplies (1.6%) registered the largest increases in April."

"Goods imports decreased by 1.9% (compared to +7.7% in March). Most product categories registered losses, with other goods (8.0%) and consumer goods (3.9%) seeing the biggest drops compared to March."

"Meanwhile, exports of services expanded by 1.2% (+1.5% in March) for the month, while imports grew by 1.8% (+4.0% in March)."

"The monthly trade deficit in goods and services decreased for the first time this year. Still, exports are down 2.5% from April 2019. Meanwhile, imports are now 5.2% higher than two years ago."

"Delving deeper into the data reveals the services sector still struggling to come to terms with the pandemic. Services exports are still 18.2% lower than April 2019."

"Despite massive fiscal stimulus, we expect the stop-and-go trend in U.S. trade to continue."