With the value of U.S. imports and exports showing similar declines, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing the U.S. trade deficit was little changed in the month of June.
The Commerce Department said the trade deficit narrowed slightly to $55.2 billion in June from a revised $55.3 billion in May.
Economists had expected the deficit to narrow to $54.6 billion from the $55.5 billion originally reported for the previous month.
The report said the value of imports slumped by $4.6 billion or 1.7 percent to $261.5 billion, while the value of exports tumbled by $4.4 billion or 2.1 percent to $206.3 billion.
Imports of industrial supplies and materials, such as crude oil and other petroleum products, showed a steep drop along with imports of cell phones and other household goods.
The Commerce Department said exports of consumer goods, such as gem diamonds and drugs, and capital goods also showed notable decreases.
The report also said the goods deficit narrowed to $75.1 billion in June from $75.9 billion in May, while the services surplus also fell to $20.0 billion from $20.6 billion.
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