May Trade Deficit Improves

May Trade Deficit Shows Slight Improvement : "The Commerce Department reported that America's trade deficit fell by 2.7 percent in May to $55.3 billion, the best showing since March. The bulk of the improvement came from a big drop in oil prices which pushed petroleum imports down by 6.8 percent. However, the trade improvement was likely to be temporary because prices of crude oil have soared to record levels above $60 per barrel since May. The trade performance in May was also helped by strong export sales, which edged up 0.1 percent to a new all-time high of $106.9 billion. Sales of agricultural products, industrial supplies and consumer goods all set records."