WASHINGTON – The U.S. trade deficit widened for the first time in four months in December on higher oil imports, the Commerce Department said Friday, but exports continued their upward trend and were nearing record levels.
The nation’s trade deficit expanded 5.9 percent in the final month of 2010, to $40.6 billion from $38.3 billion in November, the government’s data showed.
This marked the first increase and the largest trade gap since September, as the U.S. petroleum deficit hit its highest level since October 2008.
Excluding petroleum, however, the deficit improved.
Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors, said the data show higher gas prices are not just an inflation threat but can constrain economic growth.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.