US trade deficit drops in June on record rise in exports

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Photo credit FILE - In this May 11, 2020 file photo, a container ship is docked at Maher Terminals in Elizabeth, N.J. The U.S. trade deficit rose for the third straight month in May. Both exports and imports fell as the coronavirus outbreak continued to take a toll on world commerce. The Commerce Department said Thursday, July 2 that the gap between the United States buys and what it sells abroad rose 9.7% in May to $54.6 billion, highest since December 2018. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit fell in June for the first time since February as exports posted a record increase, rising twice as fast as imports.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the gap between the value of what the United States buys and what it sells abroad fell 7.5% to $50.7 billion in June from $54.8 billion in May. Exports shot up an unprecedented 9.4% to $158.3 billion, and imports rose 4.7% to $208.9 billion.