Official figures show that the US trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in April, as exports rose to a new record and imports from Japan tumbled more than 25% in the aftermath of its earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
The monthly trade gap came to $43.7 billion, down 6.7% from a revised estimate of $46.8 billion in March, the Commerce Department said. Economists had expected the April trade gap to widen.
The $3 billion drop in imports from Japan from March to April was the largest on record. US car and car parts imports from Japan and other suppliers fell $2.8 billion, partly reflecting supply chain disruptions in the aftermath of the triple disaster.
The narrower than expected deficit should be positive for second-quarter US economic growth and follows a spate of other recent data that have raised concern about the strength of the US economic recovery.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday acknowledged the economy had slowed but offered no hint the central bank was considering any more stimulus to boost growth.
The trade gap narrowed despite the biggest month-to-month jump in prices for imported oil in nearly three years. The average price rose to $103.18 per barrel, the highest since September 2008.
But the volume of crude oil imports fell, pushing the overall US oil import bill lower in April. That, combined with the lower imports from Japan, helped trim total US imports 0.4% to $219.2 billion, despite record imports of foods, feeds and beverages.
US exports, buoyed by a weakening of the U.S. dollar, rose 1.3% to a record $175.6 billion, led by record shipments of industrial supplies and materials and capital goods and smaller gains for food, feeds and beverages, consumer goods and cars.
The closely watched US trade deficit with China jumped nearly 20% in April to $21.6 billion. It continues at a pace to exceed last year's record of about $273 billion.
Meanwhile, new claims for unemployment benefits in the US rose slightly last week, remaining at levels that indicate weakness in the job market.
Initial jobless claims stood at 427,000 for the week ending June 4, above economists' estimates. Claims had been 1,000 lower the week before.
Government workers continued to need support as public-sector jobs were cut; some 2,142 public workers applied for benefits.
Claims have remained above the 400,000 threshold since early April as a fragile economic recovery fanned employers' fears to hire.
The high number of jobless claims reinforces recent poor data, which showed the unemployment rate rising to 9.1%.
