US Goods Trade Deficit Hits a Record as Exports Decline 2.1%

By Reuters
Updated December 30, 2021 12:54 +08

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The U.S. trade deficit in goods mushroomed to a record in November as imports surged and exports slipped.

Imports Rise by 4.7%

The goods trade deficit widened last month by 17.5% to $97.8 billion from $83.2 billion in October, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. That exceeds the previous record deficit set in September of $97 billion.

US economy expands 1.4% in fourth quarter; corporate profits fall — A customer counts his U.S. dollar money in a bank in Cairo, Egypt March 10, 2016

Goods exports declined 2.1%, while imports rose by 4.7%.

The report also showed wholesale inventories climbed 1.2% last month.

Retail inventories increased 2.0%.

Trump names trade hawk and China critic Robert Lighthizer as US trade tsar — A man holds a placard, which reads USTR, while protesting outside the U.S. embassy in Bangkok May 3, 2007. Several dozen protesters gathered outside the embassy, criticizing the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for placing Thailand on its "Priority Watch List" of countries with weak protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The U.S. decision comes after Thailand announced plans to override international patents on two HIV/AIDS drugs and and heart disease treatment which Thailand says is too costly for its poor. REUTERS/Adrees Latif (THAILAND)

Retail inventories, excluding autos, which go into the calculation of gross domestic product, edged up by 1.3%

Economy's Growth

The economy grew at a 2.3% annualized rate in the third quarter, a step-down from earlier in the year but activity has rebounded in the fourth quarter.

Trade has been a drag on gross domestic product growth for five straight quarters, while inventories added to output in the third quarter.

This article was first published on December 29, 2021