Trade Deficit Increases 7.3%; Both Exports and Imports Rise

In February, the trade deficit widened by 7.3% to a monthly pace of $39.7 billion. Though the pace has been choppy in recent months, the trade deficit has been trending upwards for most of the past year. Exports rose 0.2% over the month. However, the increase in exports was overshadowed by the growth of imports of 1.7%. Trade in general has been recovering strongly over the past year. In particular, exports and imports of both capital goods and industrial supplies and materials are growing faster than other categories of trade. This is indicative of recovery of business investment.