Trade Balance in United States

It measures the gap between US exports and imports of goods and services with the rest of the world over the month. It is compiled jointly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the Census Bureau, and is a key gauge of the US external sector.

It is calculated as the difference between exports and imports of goods and services, in dollars. Customs data on goods are combined with estimates of services; the total monthly balance is published in both raw and seasonally adjusted form.

It signals the external competitiveness of the US economy and feeds directly into GDP. A wider-than-expected deficit subtracts from growth and can weigh on the dollar; its breakdown by country and product is watched closely in the context of trade policy.

As with most economic data, the figures come out with almost a two-month lag and each new release revises the prior period; the monthly series is volatile and sensitive to oil prices.