The United States deficit in its foreign trade in goods and services rose 2.7% in February compared to Januaryto reach 70.5 billion dollars, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported on Wednesday.
In the second month of the year, imports fell 1.5%, while exports fell 2.7%at a time when the effects that interest rate hikes could have on the US economy are being closely watched.
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This is the third consecutive month that this indicator has risen, after a 21% plunge in November last yearin a delicate global economic context and high inflation rates, which have led the Federal Reserve to implement a series of interest rate hikes, seeking to cool the economy.
Imports and exports down
In February, imports decreased by 5,000 million dollars compared to January, to settle at 321,700 dollars.
Meanwhile, exports fell by 6.900 million dollars, to 251,200 dollars.
The deficit stood at 70.5 billion dollars, 1.9 billion more than in January, when it stood at 68.7 billion, after a revision of the figure.
In the average of the last three months, a measure used by economists to determine the trend, the average deficit of goods and services increased by 3,300 million to 68,000 million dollars.
Average exports fell $0.3 billion to $252.7 billion, while average imports fell $3 billion to $321.5 billion.
In year-on-year terms, the deficit fell by 35.5 billion, with a rise in exports of 10.8%, to 49.5 billion dollars, and a rise in imports of 2.2% to 14,000 million dollars.
Exports of goods fell by 8.5 billion to 169.2 billion dollars in February, while exports of services increased by 1.7 billion to 82 billion.
Regarding imports, those of goods decreased by 5.800 million to 262.200 million, while those of services decreased by 800 million to 59.500 million.
By region, the deficit with the European Union stood at 18.1 billion dollars in February, while the deficit with China stood at 25.2 billion dollars.
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