US DATA: July trade bal -$42.0b and Jun was rev lower to -$41.9b.
July imports -$1.8b (crude oil & related -$2.4b as prices fell and oil
imports reached their lowest since Nov’10); Olympics added only $0.4b to
services imports. Exports -$1.9b (nonmon gold -$1b, autos -$627m in a
probable fluke since auto imports gained, oil re-exports -$575m).
Exports of foods +$1.8b to their highest on record and of aircraft
+$1.4b. NSA trade gap by country: China hit a new high -$29.4b vs
-$27.4b in Jun, Japan -$6.8b vs -$6b, OPEC -$8.4b v -$8.5b, but EU -$12b
(highest since Oct’07 as exports to Germany sank) vs -$8.4b. Real trade
bal in July is only slightly narrower than the Q2 avg, will add only
slightly to Q3 GDP. This favorable result was better than most expected.