US November trade balance corrects lower but trend still widening
November’s US trade deficit of $78.3bn is in line with expectations generated by advance goods data though up from a $73.6bn deficit seen in October. The data shows exports and imports both rebounding from weakness in October that was probably influenced by a strike at East Coast ports early in the month.
Exports rose by 2.6% after declines of 1.4% in October and 1.0% in December. Imports rose by 3.4%, not fully reversing October’s 3.9% decline though that decline followed a 3.1% increase in September. The deficit is below September’s $83.8bn though the 3-month average deficit of $78.6bn is the highest since July 2022.
Goods exports rose by 3.6% versus 4.4% in advance data while goods imports rose by 4.3% versus 4.5% in the advance data. Service exports rose by 0.9% exceeding a 0.1% rise in service imports. In real terms goods exports r0se by 3.4% while goods imports rose by 4.1%.
