Cargo Business Newswire

Thursday, February 6, 2014

U.S. trade deficit widens in December on low exports

The trade deficit in the U.S. grew more than expected in December as exports ended a record year on a weak note.

The trade gap expanded 12 percent to $38.7 billion, according to data from the Commerce Department, compared to the $36 billion gap estimated by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Exports showed declined after surging in November to the highest ever, while imports went up on increased consumer demand.

December "was a bounce back" after a very large drop in the gap in November, said David Sloan, senior economist at 4Cast Inc. in New York, who predicted the widened deficit. "There's still a slight tendency for the deficit to be narrowing. The reduced U.S. dependence on imported energy is quite an important factor."

For all of 2013, the trade gap narrowed 11.8 percent to $471.5 billion, the smallest since 2009.

For more of the Bloomberg story: bloomberg.com