US Petroleum Goods Trade Deficit Lowest Since 1990 by Eric Bush, CFA
The shale revolution in the US energy sector has flipped US trade data on its head. The US has moved from a trade deficit in petroleum goods of nearly 3% of nominal GDP in 2008 to now having the smallest petroleum goods trade deficit in over 25 years (data only goes back to 1990). In 2008, the petroleum goods trade deficit peaked at 2.74%. It has since steadily narrowed, especially since 2012, to an all-time low -0.30%. This fact has helped to keep the total overall trade deficit between 2.5%-3.5% of nominal GDP since 2010 while the non-petroleum goods trade deficit has widened out to post-GFC highs around 3.65%. The trade surplus from services (second chart below) has increased roughly 50 bps since the GFC.
US Petroleum Goods Trade Deficit
