March’s trade surplus of $1.8B beat expectations, growing over last month…

… on the back of a 2% decline in imports…

… and 9% rise in exports, led by precious metals and energy products.

The value of crude oil leaving the country jumped 19%, driven by the price impact of the supply disruption in Iran…

… which flowed through to US trade, with exports south of the border rising 8% to $49B - the highest level in a year.

Non-US exports benefitted similarly, rising 10% to a record $24B on higher shipments of gold to the UK and energy products to Germany and the Netherlands.