‘Never Been Weaker’: U.S. Trade Deficit ‘Mushroomed to a Record’ in November
Breitbart
The U.S. trade deficit, wherein the cost of imported goods exceeds the value of exported goods, “mushroomed to a record in November” and will likely continue for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.
The widened gap comes one month after the value of exports had a “historic gain” just one month prior in October, according to Reuters:
The goods trade deficit widened last month by 17.5% to $97.8 billion from $83.2 billion in October, Census Bureau data showed. That exceeds the previous record deficit set in September of $97 billion and may damp optimism that trade might finally add to U.S. economic growth this quarter for the first time in more than a year.
Imports rose by 4.7% with industrial supplies leading the way with an increase of $5.7 billion to $63.2 billion, followed by consumer goods rising by $2.9 billion to just shy of $67 billion as retailers rushed to fill store shelves ahead of Christmas. Both were record highs.
Goods exports, meanwhile, declined 2.1%, with weakness across the board outside of a 4.3% increase in food exports. The drop was led by declines of $1.4 billion in industrial supplies and $1.3 billion in capital goods.
