US trade deficit rises to $103.6B in July, above expectations

​​​​​​​By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US trade balance posted a monthly deficit of $103.6 billion in July, up from the previous month, according to data released Friday.

The deficit surged 22.1% on a monthly basis, advance data from the US Census Bureau data showed.

The figure was up from $84.85 billion in June and exceeded a forecast of $90.2 billion.

US exports fell by $100 million in July on a monthly basis to $178 billion, while imports rose by $18.6 billion to $281.5 billion.

In July, wholesale inventories grew 0.2% to $908.4 billion, while the retail inventories also rose 0.2% to $809.3 billion.

The data followed the President Donald Trump's tariff policy, which he imposed blanket levies on most nations.

He also made trade deals with some countries, including the UK, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, the EU, and South Korea. Trade talks with China are still ongoing.

The US president has often spoken about using tariffs to bring down the US trade deficit with other countries.