U.S. Trade Deficit Climbs 7.1% To $43.8 Billion In June

The U.S. trade deficit rose 7.1% to a seasonally adjusted $43.8 billion in June, largely reflecting higher imports such as autos and drugs from the European Union. The trade deficit with the EU in goods hit a record high. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast the U.S. deficit to climb to $42.8 billion from a revised $40.9 billion in May. Exports slipped 0.1% to $188.6 billion in June, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Imports rose 1.2% to $232.4 billion. The U.S. trade deficit averaged $41.8 billion from April to June, down 2.5% from the same three-month period a year earlier. The rise in the June trade deficit won't come as a surprise to Wall Street. The government last week began to issue a new report that shows the "goods" balance a few days ahead of the full report, and it showed a similar increase. The change in the goods trade balance usually determines if the overall deficit goes up or down. Service-related imports and exports tend to change very little from month to month.