News Summary: US trade gap widens as exports slip
News Summary: US trade gap widens to 6-month high of $45B; 2Q economic growth looks weaker
In this Tuesday, May 14, 2013 photo, a sailor on the Bahia Castillo, a Hamburg SUD-operated refrigerated cargo ship carrying fresh Chilean fruit and other goods, signals as it docks at Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, in Philadelphia. The U.S. trade deficit increased in May to the highest level in six months as a weak global economy depressed U.S. export sales while imports of autos and other nonpetroleum products hit an all-time high. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
BIGGER TRADE GAP: The U.S. trade deficit widened to $45 billion in May, up 12.1 percent from April and its highest level since November as a sluggish global economy depressed U.S. exports.
THE DETAILS: Exports slipped 0.3 percent to $187.1 billion. Sales of American farm products dropped to their lowest point in over two years. Imports rose 1.9 percent to $232.1 billion. Imports of autos and nonpetroleum products hit an all-time high.
THE OUTLOOK: A trade gap can restrain economic growth because it means consumers and businesses are spending more on foreign goods than companies are taking in from overseas sales.
