US Goods, Services Trade Deficit Expanded To $74.4 Billion In March

The U.S. goods and services deficit widened to $74.4 billion in March, rising $3.9 billion from $70.5 billion in February, according to data released on Tuesday (May 4) by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The bureaus reported that March imports totaled $274.5 billion, which was $16.4 billion higher than February’s imports. By contrast, March exports were $200 billion, which was $12.4 billion higher than the February exports.

“The March increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $3.6 billion to $91.6 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of $0.3 billion to $17.1 billion,” according to a press release from the bureaus.

The bureaus reported that imports of goods climbed $15.3 billion to $234.4 billion in March, and the import of services grew by $1.1 billion to $40 billion in March.

In terms of exports, the bureaus reported that the export of goods climbed $11.7 billion to $142.9 billion in March. The export of services increased $800 million to $57.1 billion in March.

“Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit increased $83.2 billion, or 64.2 percent, from the same period in 2020,” according to the press release. The bureaus also noted that “the average goods and services deficit increased $2.5 billion to $70.9 billion for the three months ending in March.”

The news comes as U.S. household incomes were up 21.1 percent in March, largely propelled by U.S. government relief funds, the expansion of inoculations and the concurrent relaxation of pandemic restrictions. The recent boost in U.S. income was reportedly the biggest monthly increase seen as of 1959.

In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on April 29 that the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2021, the largest rise of any quarter since 1984.

As previously reported, the U.S. government’s third round of stimulus checks lifted March retail sales by a much better-than-anticipated 9.8 percent, per a Census report.