US trade deficit narrowed to $55.9 billion in April (consensus: -$55.5 billion) from an upwardly revised $56.6 billion (from -$60.3 billion) in March. The narrowing was a function of exports being $8.3 billion more than March exports and imports being $7.6 billion more than March imports.
The key takeaway from the report is that the export strength was concentrated in crude oil exports (+$6.4 billion), fuel oil exports (+$1.3 billion), and other petroleum products (+$1.0 billion), which were boosted by the supply disruptions tied to the difficulties traversing the Strait of Hormuz.