March 2018 US trade balance data
- Prior was a deficit of $57.6 billion (revised to $57.7B)
- China deficit $25.88B vs $29.26B prior
- Goods deficit $69.49B
- Services surplus $20.54B
- Exports +2.0% vs +1.7% prior
- Imports -1.8% vs -1.7% prior
- Mexico deficit $8.1 billion
- Canada surplus $0.3 billion
This is a nice bounce after a few months of sharp deterioration.
There are a few quirks here. One is a jump of 26.3% in exports to China in March. Another is a big $1.9 billion increase in commercial aircraft exports, which is certainly a lumpy Boeing delivery. Finally, there was a jump in exports of soybeans which is probably due to the drought in South America.
These numbers are a sign of a miniscule upward revision to Q1 GDP.
