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Brief: U.S. Imports Hold At Record High in February
U.S. trade deficit narrows to the second-largest on record as imports hold flat at $401.1 billion and exports increase 2.9% M/M to $278.5 billion
Mobius Intel Brief:
The U.S. monthly trade deficit narrowed to $-122.7 billion in February—the second largest monthly deficit after January’s record $130.7 billion— as U.S. imports of goods and services held flat month-on-month in February at a record $401.1 billion while exports increased 2.9% to $278.5 billion, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported today.
Key Intel
February’s trade data followed President Trump’s unveiling of reciprocal tariffs yesterday. Yesterday evening, the U.S. Trade Representative confirmed the formula used to determine the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariff rates as 1) a country’s trade surplus against the U.S. divided by the country’s total exports to the U.S. then 2) divided by two to produce the discounted rate.
Fewer Petroleum Exports: Granular monthly goods exports data shows U.S. shipments of nonmonetary gold, industrial supplies, and vehicles increased $3.22 billion, $3.04 billion, and $1.61 billion month-on-month. Meanwhile, exports of military-type goods and petroleum/petroleum products fell $647.4 million and $996.4 million month-on-month, respectively.
Cellphones, Drugs, & Auto Parts: Importers raced to secure shipments of manufactured consumer goods from China and broader Asia, with imports of cellphones, pharmaceuticals, and vehicle parts increasing $1.5 billion, $1.2 billion, and $742.2 million month-on-month, respectively. Imports of finished metals and nonmonetary gold fell $2.6 billion and $1.3 billion from January.
Per the BEA:
The February figures show goods trade surpluses, in billions of dollars, with South and Central America ($4.8), Netherlands ($4.1), United Kingdom ($3.4), Hong Kong ($2.4), Belgium ($0.8), Brazil ($0.4), and Saudi Arabia ($0.2).
Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with European Union ($30.9), China ($26.6), Switzerland ($18.8), Mexico ($16.8), Ireland ($14.0), Vietnam ($12.4), Taiwan ($8.7), Germany ($8.1), Canada ($7.3), India ($5.6), Japan ($5.2), Italy ($5.1), South Korea ($4.5), Malaysia ($3.1), Australia ($2.1), France ($1.5), Singapore ($1.1), and Israel ($0.7).
The deficit with Switzerland decreased $4.0 billion to $18.8 billion in February. Exports increased $0.7 billion to $2.5 billion and imports decreased $3.3 billion to $21.3 billion.
The balance with the United Kingdom shifted from a deficit of $0.5 billion in January to a surplus of $3.4 billion in February. Exports increased $3.3 billion to $9.5 billion and imports decreased $0.6 billion to $6.1 billion.
The deficit with the European Union increased $5.4 billion to $30.9 billion in February. Exports decreased $2.3 billion to $29.9 billion and imports increased $3.2 billion to $60.8 billion.
