US Goods Trade Deficit Narrows; Retail Inventories Rise

US Goods Trade Deficit Narrows; Retail Inventories Rise
Shipping containers, including one labelled "China Shipping" and another "Italia," are stacked at the Paul W. Conley Container Terminal in Boston on May 9, 2018. Brian Snyder/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:
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WASHINGTON—The U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed in May as imports fell, but the improvement was probably insufficient to prevent trade from being a drag on economic growth in the second quarter.

The hit from trade on gross domestic product was, however, likely to be offset by a rise in inventory investment, with the report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday also showing retail inventories increasing strongly last month.