June Trade Balance Turns To Black

The U.S. chemical trade balance in June rose to a surplus, despite month-to-month declines in both exports and imports. The Commerce Department reports June exports fell 0.1% from the previous month to $13.2 billion as imports declined 5.5% to $12.8 billion. On a year-over-year basis, exports rose 13.8% from June last year, while imports gained only 4.1%. The result was a $397.6 million trade surplus, up from deficits of $318.6 million in May and $695.8 million in June one year earlier. For first-half 2007, exports increased 15.4% to $75.8 billion, while imports rose 8.7% to $77.4 billion, cutting the trade deficit for the six months to $1.66 billion from $5.60 billion in the same period in 2006.