The value of U.S. imports of goods and services rose to $163.382 billion in April as the value of exports increased to $106.42 billion, both at their highest levels of the year, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on June 10. The U.S. trade deficit deepened in April to $56.963 billion from $53.562 in March, but was not a monthly record for the year. That distinction remains with February, when the trade deficit in goods and services was $60.117 billion.
The U.S. trade deficit with China, the largest with any single-nation trading partner, was $14.715 billion in April, up from $12.904 billion in March. The U.S. trade deficit with China for the first four months of 2005 totaled $56.745 billion.
Separately, the U.S. Labor Department reported on June 10 that the U.S. import price index fell 1.3% in May. The decline, a result of lower prices for both petroleum and non-petroleum imports, followed four consecutive months of increases. Prices for U.S. exports also decreased in May, declining one-tenth of a percentage point.
