US trade deficit recedes in Nov on falling imports

The US trade deficit in November receded from a 10- year high in the prior month, as imports fell by more than exports, according to a report that had been delayed by the government shutdown. However, the trade gap is more than 10 per cent higher for the January-November period than it was in 2017, despite President Donald Trump’s aggressive policies that have imposed punitive tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in goods, and sparked retaliation from US trading partners.

The deficit in November fell to $49.3 billion from $55.7 billion in October, the Commerce Department said in the data released that was postponed more than a month. Imports fell by $7.9 billion due largely to big declines in consumer goods like cell phones and of industrial supplies like petroleum products.

Exports declined $1.2 billion, due to declines in sales of industrial supplies and consumer goods, partially offset by a $1 billion jump in civilian aircraft, the data showed. The deficit in goods trade with China fell to $35.4 billion from $38.2 billion in October, not seasonally adjusted, almost entirely due to the drop in imports.