The U.S. trade deficit in goods shrank nearly 17 percent in August, one of the sharpest improvements in the past year, new Commerce Department data shows.
The goods gap narrowed by 16.8 percent to $85.5 billion, down from $102.8 billion in July, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau reported on Sept. 25. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the deficit narrowing to $95.2 billion.
The Trump administration has made reducing trade deficits a hallmark of its economic strategy, coupled with policies to revive U.S. manufacturing. The sharp August swing follows a July jump in imports, which widened the goods gap by more than 20 percent.
August imports tumbled $19.6 billion to $261.6 billion, reversing much of July’s surge, while exports slipped by a more modest $2.3 billion to $176.1 billion….