In recent months, U.S. exports of gold have climbed to levels not seen in several years. Year-to-date, U.S. gold exports have reached over $12 billion and are up 67% from last year and over 135% from 2010. The graph below illustrates the significant increase for 2012 compared with recent years. A key question on our mind is: where’s all this gold headed?


Using Zepol’s TradeView™, we find that in past years, the top importers of U.S. gold have included the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and India. While those countries have seen a steady increase in gold imports for 2012, there’s one country that has significantly impacted the upward trend. Switzerland, in particular, reached the top of our list so far for 2012 and has increased gold imports from the United States by over 200% this year compared with last year. Below are the top ten countries importing gold from the United States for 2012. If exports continue at the current pace, we may reach a record-high year for U.S. gold exports.


Note: Data is based on HS Code: 7108 - Gold (including Gold Plated With Platinum), Unwrought Or In Semimanufactured Forms, Or In Powder Form  

The Obama Administration has exclaimed this week (May 20, 2012) as one of the most exciting and liberating weeks of the year: World Trade Week! Most international trade professionals wait in anticipation for months to experience this seven-day-celebration. And who wouldn’t be excited? The White House has dedicated an entire week to putting an extreme emphasis on the importance of international trade and what it can do for American workers and our global economy.

Zepol is just as ecstatic because without global trade, we wouldn’t be here, or maybe we would, as a knock off of Zappos or something, who knows. What we do know is that Obama has narrowed his focused on U.S. exports with the National Export Initiative, which aims to double exports in the next five years. We also know what the top exports are from the United States because we are Zepol and we have TradeView™ data.


Zepol will soon have even more export data to add to our suite of trade data tools. This new export data will show information like U.S. shipper names, the products they export, and where the products are going to. So even though World Trade Week will come to an end, and might bring on a mild depression, remember that Zepol always has new and exciting global trade news, so you can get a slice of World Trade Week 365 days a year.

A recent New York Times article stated that China and U.S. leaders have reached “some important breakthroughs” on matters regarding trade between the two countries. After heightened protectionism in recent months, the news comes at a crucial time. Both sides agreed to decrease barriers to trade and open up the potential of more foreign investment.

Zepol’s TradeView™ shows a dip in U.S. imports from China in February, reaching the lowest level of imports seen in almost a year. Conversely, U.S. exports to China have shown an increase year-over-year. Below is a graph showing U.S. imports from China as well as U.S. exports to China. The recent talks will likely boost trade relations with China, but how will this affect the future trade balance with China?  

The U.S. Census Bureau released its Merchandise Trade data numbers on November 10th for September 2011. The Merchandise Trade balance narrowed from a deficit of nearly $70 billion in August to a deficit of $62 billion in September.

Below is an in-depth breakdown of the U.S. Census Merchandise Trade data. This month we have highlighted 3 interesting items that we found while looking at September's data:

1. Imports from Japan slip
2. Exports from JFK to Hong Kong take off
3. Oil imports ease in September
   

Click here for Zepol's U.S. Census Merchandise Trade Data Update for September 2011