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<TITLE>JOC Data Hub -- Paul's Pick of the Week</TITLE>
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<TD><IMG SRC="../paul.gif" ALT="JOC Statistics Guru Paul Schaffer" HEIGHT=84 WIDTH=75 ALIGN=LEFT><FONT SIZE=+3><FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Paul's
Pick of the Week</FONT> -- </FONT><FONT SIZE=+1><FONT FACE="Arial,Helvetica">Bringing
it home </FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="-1">(The United States, long a net exporter
of food products, became a net importer according to the latest trade figures.)</FONT><FONT SIZE=-1></FONT></TD>
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<P><IMG SRC="chart1.gif" HEIGHT=272 WIDTH=345 ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT FACE="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" SIZE="-1">For
the broad category "food, feed and beverages," the U.S. balance
of trade in June 1998 turned negative for the first time, using
raw figures. With seasonal adjustment, the balance remained
positive but by a slim margin. </FONT></P>
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<p><i><a href="#The">view the raw data</a></i></p>
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<CENTER><I>Paul Schaffer is The Journal of Commerce's statistics guru.
He is constantly sifting through government and PIERS statistics to find
information revealing the newest and hottest trade trends. For your own
"private Paul" (a custom PIERS statistics report) or information about
PIERS products send an E-mail to <A HREF="mailto:xfer@panix.com">xfer@panix.com</A>
with the words "piers information" in the subject line and a description
of what interests you in the text.</I></CENTER>
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<A NAME="The"></A><B><FONT SIZE=+1>The Raw Data</FONT></B></P>
<pre>Food trade balance for June, in millions of dollars
Bal Adj Bal Unadj E Adj I Adj E Unadj I Unadj
6/89 1,175 912 3,279 2,104 2,964 2,052
6/90 930 848 3,129 2,199 2,983 2,135
6/91 405 336 2,687 2,282 2,552 2,216
6/92 651 502 3,126 2,475 3,009 2,507
6/93 921 717 3,253 2,332 3,043 2,326
6/94 536 317 3,126 2,590 2,950 2,633
6/95 1,176 904 3,949 2,773 3,670 2,766
6/96 1,712 1,259 4,670 2,958 4,102 2,843
6/97 821 445 4,100 3,279 3,681 3,236
6/98 170 -45 3,759 3,589 3,559 3,604
Source: U.S. Census Bureau with history from FT-900 reports
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