US trade gap falls to $39.9 in February, lowest since 2016

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By PAUL WISEMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit tumbled in February to the lowest level since 2016 as exports fell and imports fell more. The politically sensitive gap in the trade of goods with China narrowed in February when the world’s No. 2 economy was locked down to combat the coronavirus outbreak..

The Commerce Department said Thursday that the gap between what the U.S. buys and what it sells abroad dropped 12.2% to $39.9 billion in February, the lowest since September 2016. Exports fell 0.4% to $207.5 billion. Imports skidded 2.5% to $247.5 billion.

The goods gap with China fell 17% to $19.7 billion on a 13% drop in imports.

In February, the United States ran a $61.2 billion deficit in the trade of goods such as aircraft and appliances. But it ran a $21.3 billion surplus in services such as education and tourism.



FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2019 file photo cargo cranes are used to take containers off of a Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation boat at the Port of Tacoma in Tacoma, Wash. The U.S. trade deficit tumbled in February 2020 to the lowest level since 2016 as exports fell and imports fell more. The politically sensitive gap in the trade of goods with China narrowed in February when the world's No. 2 economy was locked down to combat the coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/3bffe0690f42d73c8211bdbc35432cec

[yaesu]

1. tRump must have got his oil stock trades bought earlier before he announced helping the

oil companies today.

[bucolic_frolic]

5. YEah, and he shouldn't be allowed to tweet and disrupt the markets like that

I was hedged OxyPete. Left to play out I would have closed the hedge and kept the stock. No more. Trumped by Trump's big Tweet mouth!

[SheltieLover]

2. K&R

[eppur_se_muova]

3. That is astonishingly low -- it's usually in the billions of dollars. nt

Last edited Thu Apr 2, 2020, 05:43 PM - Edit history (1)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. It's still there. The editors must be working from home. NT

[bucolic_frolic]

4. I went food shopping today

Went to 4 supermarkets, Walmart is out of stock on maybe 20% of items. Giant was 35% empty shelves and telling everyone over the loudspeaker how hard they're working and how many trucks are on the way daily, only the highest prices were available in many departments. Bakeries are shuttered. Deli's, some open, some not. Fresh fish closed. Regional discount chain had the only eggs at $3.50 a dozen. National franchise closeout was well stocked with superbargains, but they get closeouts, so they don't have everything.

Can't find sanitizer, peroxide, alcohol, any spray soap cleaners except bath/shower type. The entire situation has half the food on hand they did 2 weeks ago.

So yeah, We're not importing, we're not producing, the world is not producing, we're in lockdown. This may yet get dicey as to availability on many more tems.

[DarthDem]

6. I went shopping yesterday

And had exactly the opposite experience. Everything was well-stocked except paper goods and cleaning wipes. Signs limiting purchases of items had been taken down.

[bucolic_frolic]

9. Maybe it's a distribution problem

Suburban Phlly here. Giant had the 1 item signs on many things, Walmart 2 on some items. So if you're near a distribution center, or not near a top 12 urban center that devours inventory, you would have better results.

[DarthDem]

10. Maybe

I live near a larger urban area, however. Another possibility is that your experience is anecdotal.

[bucolic_frolic]

12. It is possible your experience is anecdotal too

either could be based on a day of the week. Some say trucks arrive about Tues to Fri, surely they try to restock shelves for the weekends. I did not see as many stockers as 2 weeks ago, though pickers for online orders were about the same.

[OnlinePoker]

11. Here in BC, a lot of staples are in short supply

Flour and yeast are difficult to find. The meat aisle was almost empty yesterday and what was there had incredible prices ($7.50 for two butterfly porkchops). A lot of canned products (soups and veggies) are gone or extremely limited in selection. Cereal is limited as well. Plenty of TP, but at my one grocer, it looks like a TV commercial...all one product.

[gab13by13]

7. Other countries banned their exports of medical supplies,

while we are still exporting medical supplies abroad.