U.S. Trade Deficit Narrows in April as Oil Exports Surge

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed slightly in April as exports outpaced imports, helped by a sharp increase in oil shipments.

The increase was driven largely by a significant rise in oil exports.

Both imports and exports rose during the month, but a surge in oil trading pushed the overall trade gap to $55.9 billion, down from $56.6 billion in March, Ben Werschkul reported for Yahoo Finance.

Imports increased by 2 percent in April but were surpassed by a 2.6 percent rise in exports.

The total value of U.S. goods and services exported reached $327.1 billion.

The increase was driven largely by a significant rise in oil exports. U.S. crude oil exports climbed by $6.4 billion, while fuel oil exports rose by $1.3 billion. Other petroleum products increased by an additional $1 billion.

The figures were included in new Commerce Department data released this week, as global markets continued to grapple with energy disruptions linked to the ongoing conflict involving Iran.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a peace agreement could quickly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but warned that a collapse in negotiations could mean “you won’t have the strait open for months.”

One consequence of the energy price shock appears to be stronger demand for U.S. oil exports.