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Trade Deficit Surges as Oil Imports Hit Record High
By Martin Crutsinger The Associated Press
Published: Aug 12, 2005
WASHINGTON (AP) - America's trade deficit increased sharply in June as surging oil prices pushed petroleum imports to an all-time high. The politically sensitive deficit with China also set a record.
The Commerce Department reported that the imbalance between what America sells abroad and what it imports rose to $58.8 billion in June, an increase of 6.1 percent from the May deficit of $55.4 billion.
So far this year, the trade deficit is running at an annual rate of $686 billion, 11 percent higher than last year's all-time record of $617.6 billion. The trade performance has presented President Bush with a political headache as critics have charged that the soaring imbalance represents the failure of the administration's free trade policies.