US trade deficit hits five-month low as imports decline

An uptick in exports and a fall in imports brought the August US trade deficit to its narrowest in five months, according to government data released Tuesday.

The overall trade gap in the world's biggest economy was $70.4 billion, said the Department of Commerce, down from a revised $78.9 billion in July.

This was narrower than analysts expected and the lowest since March.

Exports rose by 2.0 percent to $271.8 billion, helped by goods like aircraft and telecommunications equipment, alongside pharmaceutical preparations and autos.

But exports of semiconductors fell in the month.

Overall imports slipped by 0.9 percent to $342.2 billion, on decreases in industrial supplies and passenger cars.

While there might have been import growth of consumer goods as companies braced for possible disruptions from a dockworkers strike, thousands of workers returned to work after a three-day walkout last week.

Negotiations between shippers and a longshoremen's union will be allowed to continue until January 15.

With the central bank cutting interest rates sharply in September, the US economy could also receive somewhat of a boost in the coming months.

The goods deficit with China -- a point of contention during the trade war between the United States and China -- slid by $2.6 billion to $24.7 billion in August, according to Commerce Department data.

This came as imports decreased in August while exports climbed.

"Putting together July and August figures suggests that net trade is flat so far in third quarter, making no significant addition or subtraction to GDP growth so far," said economists Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi of High Frequency Economics.