In the second quarter, the US current account deficit fell to $117,4 billion, about 3% of GDP, and 12% down from $133,6 billion in the first quarter. The data was better than the expectations of analysts who were expecting a $125 billion loss.
The statistics, released by the Department of Commerce, is the most important for taking the pulse of the trend in the commercial sector, because it not only takes into account the commercial exchanges of products and services but also includes the flow of investments between countries. The drop in oil prices weighed particularly heavily on the data, which includes the period from April to June.
In fact, the deficit relating to trade in goods and services fell to 139,2 billion, thanks to record exports in June driven by the drop in crude oil prices. Foreigners instead sold US government bonds for 33,3 billion dollars, more than 14,8 billion in the previous quarter.
The data was not enough to give confidence to Wall Street which opened negatively with the S&P500 losing 0,31%, the Nasdaq in the red by -0,17% and the Dow Jones at -0,18%.
