Washington: The US trade deficit fell more than five percent in May as exports surged, the government reported Thursday.
The nation`s trade gap narrowed to $44.4 billion in May, down from a revised shortfall of $47.0 billion in April, the Commerce Department said.
The size of the decline, following five straight months of increases, was larger than analysts expected. The average estimate was for a May deficit of $45.2 billion.
In April, the US trade deficit had hit its highest level in two years.
Exports of goods and services jumped 1.0 percent in May to $195.5 billion, with large gains in exports of automobiles and consumer goods.
Imports edged down 0.2 percent to $239.8 billion, almost all of it in goods.
US goods exports hit a record $135.7 billion, as automobile exports climbed to a fresh high of $13.5 billion.
