WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. trade deficit dropped by 4.1 percent in June to 56.8 billion dollars, the smallest imbalance since March, as exports rose to an all-time high, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
The June reading for U.S. international trade in goods and services followed a revised May deficit of 59.2 billion dollars. Analysts had been expecting a 61.5 billion dollar deficit for June.
For June, U.S. exports of goods and services advanced by 4.1 percent to a record of 164.4 billion dollars.
U.S. imports also rose to a record of 221.2 billion dollars, up1.8 percent from the May level. The gain was driven by a 14.6 percent surge in petroleum imports, which hit an all-time high of 44.5 billion dollars as crude oil prices jumped to record levels.
For the first half of this year, the trade deficit is running at an annual rate of 702.8 billion dollars, up from last year's deficit of 700.3 billion dollars.
The 2007 deficit marked the first annual improvement after five straight years of record deficits. Analysts expect the trade deficit to shrink further this year as exports benefit from a weaker dollar, which makes American goods and services cheaper andthus more competitive in many overseas markets.
