"Export growth over the next few months, at least, should be relatively weak"
- Jay Bryson, senior global economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC
The U.S. trade deficit widened a slight 0.2% in July to a seasonally adjusted $42.0 billion from $41.9 billion in the prior month, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Tuesday. Overall U.S. imports fell 0.8% to $225.3 billion, down from $227.1 billion, while exports declined by 1% to $183.3 billion from $185.2 billion.
"Export growth over the next few months, at least, should be relatively weak," said Jay Bryson, senior global economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"There's still a lot of uncertainty regarding the European economy, the pace of a general industrial recovery in China as well as the potential for a fiscal cliff in the United States," said James Shaw, chief financial officer of Minneapolis-based Donaldson Company Inc.
The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.31 per cent to 1,433.56. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged higher 0.52 per cent to 13,323.36. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.02 per cent to 3,104.53.
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