US trade figures up next; bad is good

Trade figures for the US are one of those perverse pieces pf data where bad data is actually good. A big trade deficit for the US usually illustrates a growing economy that is sucking in imports to be consumed. A narrowing deficit suggests slower economic activity, as we saw over the last two years.

We’ve seen slower data of late from the US so traders will look to a narrower deficit as a further sign of slowdown….

The consensus forecast is for a $39 bln deficit in May from $40.3 in April.