(Jan 29): The US trade deficit widened in November from the lowest level since 2009 as imports rebounded and exports fell, highlighting wide monthly swings in response to the Trump administration’s vacillating tariffs.
The goods and services trade gap nearly doubled from the prior month to US$56.8 billion, Commerce Department data showed on Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for a US$44 billion deficit.
The trade data have been prone to volatility related to the implementation of US trade policy. In recent months, there’s been a surge in trade of non-monetary gold and pharmaceutical preparations in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.
That was the case again in November, with a surge in inbound shipments of pharmaceuticals and a slide in gold exports. Overall imports increased 5%, also boosted by capital goods, such as computers and semiconductors.
The value of all US goods and services exports fell 3.6% in November. The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation.
The latest trade data will help economists firm up their estimates for fourth-quarter (4Q) gross domestic product (GDP). Before the figures, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow forecast net exports would add 1.88 percentage points to 4Q growth.
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On an inflation-adjusted basis, which filters into the real GDP measurement, the merchandise trade deficit widened to US$87.1 billion in November, the largest in four months. Trade in gold, unless used for industrial purposes such as in the production of jewellery, is excluded from the government’s GDP calculation.
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