A $63.4b trade deficit isn't small.    But it is a bit smaller than the average $65b deficit of the fourth quarter.  And, in all honesty, I expected a bit higher number.

The dog that didn't bark: oil

Oil imports (seasonally adjusted) rose to $23.85b in April, but I certainly expected a bit higher number.  The average US oil import price was $56.8 a barrel.  The import price is typically lower than the spot price.  But it was well below the $70 average market price in April -- I don't think the US oil import bill has peaked.

As importantly, oil import volumes in April were quite weak.  That shows up if you look the exhibit showing real oil imports, which were $10.9b in April v $12.5b in January.   It also shows up in Exhibit 17, which shows the volume of all imported petroleum products.   The US imported 5% less this April than it did last April,   And overall imports so far this year, in volume terms, are down 3.3%.

My gut says that this is evidence that higher prices are having an impact.  But there also may be some industry specific factors at work -- no storage, a mild winter and so on.