Trade deficit falls from 14-year high

The U.S. trade deficit dropped 4.7 percentage points in September after reaching its highest level since 2006 just a month earlier, according to data from the Census Bureau.

A report released by the agency on Wednesday found that the total deficit between the value of U.S. goods and services sold around the world and foreign goods and services sold in the U.S. was $63.9 billion in September, a drop of $3.2 billion from its peak of $67 billion in August.

August’s trade deficit was the highest the U.S. has faced since August 2006, and came as President Trump has vowed repeatedly to reduce the U.S. trade deficit and singled out countries such as China for allegedly unfair trade practices. The administration has pursued a new trade deal with China for years without success so far.

Imports and exports both rose in September, by $1.2 billion and $4.4 billion respectively, and the overall drop in the deficit was attributed to a $3.1 billion drop in the U.S. goods deficit and a $0.1 billion rise in the U.S. services surplus.

While September’s numbers represented a drop from the 14-year high reached in August, the goods and services deficit remains 8.6 percent higher than it sat in September of 2019.

“The trade recovery will continue in the coming months, with leading indicators pointing to decent growth in September. However, we still see total trade volumes falling a record average of over 12 percent in 2020,” James Watson, an economist with Oxford Economics, wrote last month.