The 34-inch pipe in Romeoville, Ill., 30 miles southwest of Chicago, is still shut, with no indication of when it will reopen. Enbridge said it collected about 6,050 of the 6,100 barrels that leaked.
The U.S. trade deficit fell to $42.8 billion in July from $49.8 billion in June. The gap remains huge, but if the trends continues in the months ahead, trade will boost U.S. GDP growth above current forecasts.
U.S. economic growth slowed to an anemic 1.6% pace in the second quarter, due primarily to a worsening trade imbalance. The sole ray of light in the Commerce Department's report was that the downward revision was not as severe as economists had expected.
With the U.S. consumer economy in the doldrums, the impact is being felt globally. From China to Germany and Canada to Japan, America's major trading partners are struggling to adapt to a sudden decline in U.S. imports.
May's unexpected rise in the U.S. trade deficit to $42.3 billion isn't likely to resolve the tug of war between the economic optimists and pessimists. Imports and exports both grew, but imports grew marginally faster.
After trailing Asian automakers for more than two decades, U.S. car companies, led by Ford Motor and General Motors, raced ahead of their foreign competition in the latest J.D. Power Initial Quality Study of new vehicles.
Looking for clues about global growth? Keep an eye on FedEx, which reports quarterly earnings early Wednesday. The world's second-largest package deliverer after UPS, FedEx is a barometer of global demand, and especially of business in China.
April's trade report provides fodder for the bears, who will likely point to the month's 0.7% drop in exports as further evidence that international demand is not going to drive a self-sustaining recovery in the U.S.
Minus the $2.76 billion increase in payments for imported oil in March, the month's $40.4 billion trade deficit -- a 12-month high -- would have declined from February's $39.4 billion.
China posted a tiny surplus in April, which could signal a change in China's role in world trade.
The trade deficit jumped 7.4% to $39.7 billion in February, the Commerce Department announced Tuesday. Both imports and exports grew, but imports grew at a faster pace than economists had forecast.
