U.S. Imports, Exports Jump 20% To Shatter 2021 Records

U.S. Imports, Exports Jump 20% To Shatter 2021 Records

The price of a barrel of oil is a major factor in record overall export and imports thus far in ... [+] 2022. Exports nearly topped $300 billion in the first two months of the year for the first time, ending at $298. 03 billion. Imports passed $400 billion through February for the first time — and nearly topped $500 billion to boot, increasing $83. 93 billion over the 2021 record to $482. 55 billion. The value of U. S. oil imports jumped 84. 24%, four times faster than the national average, as the price of a barrel of oil surged on global markets in response to a tamer Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other factors. It was the No. 1 ranked import through February for the first time since 2014, with a value of $26. 56 billion. Imports of natural gas, almost all of it from Canada, as well as LNG and other petroleum gases also jumped at four times the national average while imports of refined petroleum grew at twice the nation average. Those two ranked 15th and eighth among U. S. imports. Refined petroleum topped $10 billion for the first time, ending at $10.