US trade gap widens in November on record imports

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US exports increased in November to their highest level on record, but imports rose faster, pushing the trade gap to its widest in nearly five years, according to data released Friday.

The monthly trade report was full of records that signal the recovery in the US and world economies, but the growing US deficit could still subtract from GDP growth in the final three months of the year.

Rising oil prices accounted for a big chunk of the increase in the trade deficit, which rose 1.6 billion US dollars to 50.5 billion US dollars compared to October, the Commerce Department reported. The consensus forecast among economists was for the deficit to decline to 47.9 billion US dollars.

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Exports of US goods and services jumped 4.4 billion US dollars to 200.2 billion US dollars, the most ever measured, pushed by a record 65.7 billion US dollars in services exports, according to the report.

But imports surged 6 billion US dollars to 250.7 billion US dollars, also the highest ever.

The gain was led by oil imports which jumped 1.4 billion US dollars to nearly 17 billion US dollars, as the average price for crude rose to 50.10 US dollars a barrel, the highest since July 2015.

For the January-November period, the US trade deficit increased by 53.4 billion US dollars or 11.6 percent over the same period of 2016, to 513.6 billion US dollars.

The deficit in goods with China rose to its highest level in two years to 35.4 billion US dollars, and for the year-to-date was 344.4 billion US dollars, 25 billion US dollars higher than in the comparable period of 2016.

The gap with Canada and Mexico also widened in the January-November period, to 15.3 billion US dollars and 65.7 billion US dollars, respectively.

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Source(s): AFP