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Rise in U.S. exports shrinks trade deficit

A crane removes a container from a ship at the Port of Baltimore’s Seagirt Marine Terminal on March 1, 2013. The trade gap dropped 12.9 percent in November to $34.3 billion, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That’s the smallest monthly trade deficit since October 2009. (Associated Press)
Don Lee McClatchy-Tribune

WASHINGTON – U.S. exports rose to a record high in November, helping to shrink the nation’s trade deficit to the lowest in four years.

The surprisingly positive trade report Tuesday adds to the upbeat outlook for the economy. With net exports stronger than expected, analysts revised higher their economic growth forecast for the fourth quarter, saying it will likely come in at a solid annual rate of about 3 percent.

The Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit in goods and services with the rest of the world totaled $34.3 billion in November. That was the lowest since fall 2009 and a steep drop from a trade gap of $39.3 billion in October, seasonally adjusted.

U.S. exports of goods and services reached $194.9 billion in November, up 1 percent from $193.1 billion in October.

American imports saw a sharper change but in the other direction, falling to $229.1 billion in November from $232.5 billion in the prior month. The 1.5 percent decline was mostly because of a big drop in the quantity and value of purchased crude oil.

In all, imports of petroleum goods fell 11 percent in November from the prior month, to $28.5 billion, seasonally adjusted. Meanwhile, U.S. exports of energy continued to edge higher, with petroleum shipments rising 5.5 percent in November to $13.3 billion.

On an inflation-adjusted basis, the U.S. trade deficit in petroleum goods in November was the lowest since late 1996, Commerce data show.

Exports in November also were lifted by a modest gain in automotive products and capital goods such as aircraft and industrial machines. American shipments of foods and consumer goods were down slightly over the month.

With the U.S. becoming more energy-independent, the American trade balance with oil-producing countries has improved sharply over the last year.

The U.S. merchandise trade deficit with Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations totaled $64.1 billion in the first 11 months of last year – a decline from $95.7 billion in the same period a year earlier.

At the same time, the American trade gap in goods with other major trading partners widened slightly. The U.S. trade deficit with Europe in the January-November period of last year rose 4 percent to $121.4 billion, and the gap with China was $293.9 billion, up 1 percent from a year earlier.