U.S. Trade Deficit Narrows In August As Exports Jump, Imports Fall

(RTTNews) - With exports surging and imports falling, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing the U.S. trade deficit narrowed in the month of August.

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit shrank to $70.4 billion in August from a revised $78.9 billion in July.

Economists had expected the trade deficit to decrease to $70.6 billion from the $78.8 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The narrower trade deficit came as the value of imports shot up by 2.0 percent to $271.8 billion, while the value of imports decreased by 0.9 percent to $342.2 billion.