Can anyone here make any sense of the following>?
From the WSJ
Exports rose 2.4% to $84.6 billion, the highest level of overseas sales since the $85.2 billion registered in June 2001. The U.S. sold abroad $818 million more capital goods such as aircraft and computer accessories.
Meanwhile, purchases of foreign-made capital goods fell $79 million, while imports of foreign automobiles and parts increased $438 million to a record $18.2 billion. But consumers bought $1.21 billion less foreign consumer goods such as apparel and diamonds.
The nation's energy bill climbed to $10.56 billion from $10.17 billion in May, partly the result of a $1.39 increase in the average price of a barrel of oil to $25.50 in June.
The trade gap with China, the largest with any nation, widened to $9.99 billion from May's $9.86 billion. The trade deficit with Western Europe fell to $7.96 billion from $8.26 billion a month earlier. The deficit with Japan grew to $5.38 billion from $4.49 billion.
The U.S. is wary of the huge trade deficit at a time when the economy, while showing signs of growing, isn't producing many new jobs yet.
Initial jobless claims increased 2,000 to 398,000 in the week that ended Saturday, the Labor Department reported. It was the fourth consecutive week in which initial claims remained below the threshold of 400,000, a figure that indicates a weak labor market. The four-week average, which smooths out weekly fluctuations, declined by 4,250 to 394,250, the lowest level in six months.
The trio of reports fueled some economists' upbeat attitude on the strength of the economic upturn. "The job picture improved in August, inflation is nonexistent and [second-quarter economic] growth looks like it's going to be revised up to around a 3% rate from the originally reported 2.4% gain," said Gerald Cohen, a Merrill Lynch economist. |
