The U.S. trade deficit expanded significantly in May, as both imports and exports shrank, according to the country's Commerce Department on Thursday.
The U.S. deficit of trade in goods and services was 71.5 billion U.S. dollars in May, up 11.3 billion or 18.7 percent from the 60.3 billion in April, according to the latest data from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The import volume was 350.5 billion U.S. dollars in May, down 0.3 billion or 0.1 percent from the previous month. Among them, the imports of consumer goods, including textile apparel and toys, decreased by 4 billion U.S. dollars, while the imports of automotive vehicles, parts, and engines increased 3.4 billion U.S. dollars.
The May exports were 279.0 billion U.S. dollars, 11.6 billion or 4 percent less than that in April. The country's export of industrial supplies and materials, including non-monetary gold, natural gas and finished metal shapes, registered a significant decrease of 10 billion U.S. dollars.
Analysts said that as the July 9 deadline for tariff negotiations previously announced by U.S. President Donald Trump is approaching, the market will continue to face uncertainties, which could lead to further fluctuations in imports and exports.
U.S. trade deficit expands in May on shrinking exports
U.S. trade deficit expands in May on shrinking exports
U.S. trade deficit expands in May on shrinking exports
As the New Year holiday is drawing near, more and more people in China are choosing to celebrate the arrival of 2026 with travel.
According to umetrip, a Chinese travel-related mobile service provider, the flight booking reservations from major cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai to popular destinations including southern cities like Sanya, Haikou, Kunming, Guangzhou, and northern areas like Changbai Mountain and Harbin have increased significantly on a month-on-month basis for the New Year holiday.
As of Thursday, more than 2.71 million tickets have been booked in domestic routes, about 35 percent higher than that of last year, the data shows.
"Flights from Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Chengdu to Sanya; from Shanghai and Chengdu to Beihai; from Guangzhou and Shanghai to Changbai Mountains; and from Beijing to Kunming have all recorded seat occupancy rates exceeding 70 percent prior to the New Year holiday," said Yu Haiyan, deputy manager of revenue management office with China Southern Airlines' sales department.
Travel bookings for January 2026 show that ice-and-snow trips and warm-weather getaways remain the dominant themes, with their popularity expected to continue through the Spring Festival, the traditional Chinese New Year, which falls in February 2026.
"Air ticket bookings to Harbin, Shenyang, and Yanbian have increased by 18 percent, 36 percent, and 52 percent, respectively, while those for flights to Haikou and Sanya rose by 19 percent and 51 percent, respectively," said Shi Ke, a researcher of the Qunar Big Data Research Institute.
China sees strong travel demand for upcoming New Year holiday
