The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in November on rising demand in the U.S. for foreign goods, another sign of a pickup in activity.
The nation's trade deficit expanded 9.7% in November to $36.4 billion from $33.2 billion in October, the Commerce Department said.
The November figure is the widest trade gap since January.
Economists generally believe the widening deficit is a welcome sign that the U.S. economy and global trade activity continue to heal after the worst global recession since World War II.
The U.S. trade deficit hit a bottom of $25.8 billion in May and has steadily widened since.
The deficit for 2009 will still be much narrower than it was in 2008. For the first 11 months of the year, the trade gap totaled $340.62 billion, down from $654.08 billion in the same period of 2008.
Exports continued to perform well, rising for a seventh month due to the weaker dollar.
But the rise in exports was swamped in November by a surge in imports.
The trade deficit exceeded the $34.8 billion consensus forecast of Wall Street economists.
The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in November on rising demand in the U.S. for foreign goods, another sign of a pickup in activity.
The nation's trade deficit expanded 9.7% in November to $36.4 billion U.S. from $33.2 billion U.S. in October, the Commerce Department said.
The November figure is the widest trade gap since January.
Economists generally believe the widening deficit is a welcome sign that the U.S. economy and global trade activity continue to heal after the worst global recession since World War II.
The U.S. trade deficit hit a bottom of $25.8 billion in May and has steadily widened since.
The deficit for 2009 will still be much narrower than it was in 2008. For the first 11 months of the year, the trade gap totaled $340.62 billion U.S., down from $654.08 billion U.S. in the same period of 2008.
Exports continued to perform well, rising for a seventh month due to the weaker dollar.
But the rise in exports was swamped in November by a surge in imports.
The trade deficit exceeded the $34.8-billion U.S. consensus forecast of Wall Street economists.
In real terms, which exclude inflation, exports fell 0.6% in November. Imports rose 1.5%.
The petroleum deficit narrowed 4.6% in November to $18.9 billion U.S. The non-petroleum trade gap widened 6.2% to $27.14 billion U.S.
The value of U.S. crude-oil imports rose to $17.8 billion U.S. in November from $17.44 billion U.S. in October as the price of a barrel of oil rose to $72.54 from $67.39 U.S. in the previous month. The quantity of crude-oil imports fell to 8.18 million barrels from 8.35 million in October.
The U.S. trade deficit with China narrowed to $20.22 billion in November from $22.67 billion U.S. in October
