July trade gap widens as exports to Europe slump

The U.S. trade deficit grew slightly in July, a small bit of negative news for the U.S. economy, as exports to Germany, France and other European nations shrank and imports from China soared to a new record.

The monthly trade shortfall was $42 billion, compared to a downwardly revised estimate of $41.9 billion for June, as both overall imports and exports declined.

But analysts surveyed before the report had expected a bigger trade deficit of around $44 billion.

The ongoing debt crisis in Europe appeared to be taking a toll on demand, with U.S. exports to the 27 nations of the European Union falling 11.7 percent in July.

Exports to Germany were the lowest since February 2010 and the trade gap with the EU was the biggest since October 2007.

Read Full Article from Reuters

- Posted: 2012-09-11 12:05:42

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