Trade data released Wednesday showed that U.S. imports and exports increased in March, the latest sign that the economic recovery was progressing.
The Commerce Department’s monthly report on trade showed a 3.1 percent increase in imports in March from the previous month and a 3.2 percent increase in exports.
The country’s trade deficit, however, increased 2.5 percent in March, to $40.4 billion, up from $39.4 billion in February. That was slightly less than the $40.5 billion estimate from economists.
In the month, exports of goods and services were $147.87 billion while imports totaled $188.3 billion.
An increase in oil imports accounted for the wider overall deficit in March. When the petroleum component is subtracted, the overall deficit fell.
“That basically leaves the economy with a trade deficit that is not going to add to growth as we go forward,” said Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities USA.
“The real story out of this is you are not getting as much of a boost from net exports that a lot of people had been hoping for,” he said.
But strong gains in the overall trade volumes suggest a global economic recovery, in addition to a stronger dollar, said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist for MFR.
“The main point from these data is the very strong increase in overall trade volumes,” he said. “The balance itself is less of the story. Imports are highly correlated with what is going on in the inventory side in the United States.”
A competitive dollar was helping exports, he said.
The trade data was the latest to suggest an upward trend in the economy despite growing unease in the financial markets.
Even though the unemployment rate went up to 9.9 percent in April, jobs figures released last week showed that employers added 290,000 jobs in April — the largest gain in four years.
“The trade deficit is expanding a bit,” Shapiro said. Like the unemployment rate, Shapiro said, “it went up for the right reason. It is going up because our economy is doing better.”
“It is across the board,” he said. “Not every month and every category, but the trend is very clear and very powerful.”
The politically sensitive deficit with China rose slightly in March to $16.9 billion from $16.5 billion in February.
