The US trade deficit in goods for April narrowed more than expected, with export growth offsetting rising imports.

In April, the trade deficit in the United States narrowed, reflecting an increase in exports of capital goods and consumer goods. Data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Friday showed that the seasonally adjusted trade deficit in goods for April decreased by 3.4% to $82.4 billion, while the market consensus was $87 billion. U.S. goods exports increased by 4%, with exports of industrial raw materials such as crude oil and petroleum products in addition to capital goods and consumer goods also rising; imports increased by 1.9%. The actual closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict in the Middle East has become another supply chain challenge for businesses to address after last year's erratic U.S. tariff policy. Economists say some companies have increased inventory levels to hedge against supply chain interruptions; furthermore, the AI construction boom has also driven continuous growth in equipment imports. In April, U.S. capital goods imports increased by 40.1% year-on-year, reaching a historic high. In addition to trade data, the latest leading economic indicators show that U.S. retail inventories increased by 0.7% and wholesale inventories increased by 0.5% on a month-on-month basis. With the impact of the Middle East conflict on oil trade, U.S. producers have seized the opportunity to fill the supply gap. U.S. crude oil exports hit a new high in April, with daily exports exceeding 6.4 million barrels; exports of refined oil products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel also saw a significant surge. In the first quarter of this year, the drag of net exports on the U.S. GDP reached the highest level in a year. The complete trade data for April, including services trade, will be released on June 9th.