Washington DC [US], September 30 (ANI): The US trade deficit in goods increased sharply in August amid a rise in imports with the goods trade shortfall increasing 11.5% to USD132.6 billion last month, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The report said that goods imports increased USD 17.4 billion, or 5.5%, to USD 336.1 billion.
It said there was 16.6% jump in imports of industrial supplies, including petroleum. Capital goods imports rose 4.0% amid an AI infrastructure-related boom.
While food imports increased 5.5%, consumer goods imports fell 1.6%, Reuters reported.
There was a decline in food exports by 5.6 per cent. Exports of goods advanced 1.9% to USD 203.4 billion while exports of industrial supplies rose 8.3%.
Noting that shipments of consumer goods dropped 10.5%, the Reuters report said citing data that trade could remain a drag economic growth in the third quarter.
The US trade deficit in goods and services grew to the biggest gap in 16 months in July. The US has seen rise in electronics imports for the artificial intelligence boom.
According to Commerce Department data, the monthly trade deficit hit $88.6 billion in the month and it was an increase of more than 24 per cent over June.
Meanwhile, US Treasury yields surged sharply last Wednesday with the benchmark 10-year yield climbing above 5 per cent to its highest level since July 2007, as a spike in oil prices, stronger-than-expected business activity and a weak Treasury auction intensified inflation concerns and raised expectations of further interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.
The sell-off in bonds pushed the 5-year Treasury yield up 15 basis points to 4.99 per cent, while the 10-year yield jumped 14 basis points to 5.11 per cent.
The 30-year Treasury yield rose 10 basis points to 5.40 per cent.The sharp rise in yields has significant implications for financial markets and the broader US economy. Higher Treasury yields raise borrowing costs across the economy, including for mortgages and corporate debt, while also increasing the discount rate applied to future corporate earnings, putting pressure on equity valuations, particularly rate-sensitive and growth stocks. (ANI)
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