The US trade deficit for goods and services narrowed to a seasonally adjusted USD38.03bn in September from a revised USD38.28bn in August, according to figures released today by the Commerce Department In percentage terms, the trade deficit narrowed a disappointing 0.7pc in September. The trade deficit was larger than expected. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for a deficit of USD36.8bn in September. In August, the trade deficit was originally recorded as USD38.46bn. The September trade deficit narrowed as both imports and exports fell, but imports dropped by a larger degree. In September, imports fell 0.5pc to USD120.19bn while exports fell 0.4pc to USD82.16bn. The deficit with Japan widened to USD5.85bn in September from USD5.12bn in the same month a year earlier.
The deficit with the eurozone widened to USD5.25bn in September from USD3.05bn in the same month last year. In August, the US recorded a deficit of USD5.36bn. The trade deficit with China widened to USD10.27bn in September from USD8.50bn in Sept 2001. This is the second-highest trade deficit with China on record, following August's record gap of USD10.86bn. //www.fxcentre.com