For three months straight, the statistics had been reassuring the U.S. that its troublesome trade deficit was finally on the mend. Last week came a setback. The Government said the trade gap widened to $12.5 billion in June, from $9.8 billion the previous month. Both sides of the balance sheet showed that overseas producers were once again grabbing a larger share of the market. U.S. exports, which had been rising robustly thanks to the downsized dollar, slumped 2.4%, to $26.8 billion. Imports arrived in a fresh wave, rising 5.7%, to $39.4 billion.
Yet financial markets took the news in stride, since...