U.S. Trade Deficit Widens More Than Expected To $45.2 Billion

With imports rising and exports falling, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing that the U.S. trade deficit widened by more than expected in the month of November.

The report said the trade deficit widened to $45.2 billion in November from a revised $42.4 billion in October. The trade deficit had been expected to widen to $44.5 billion.

The wider than expected deficit was partly due to the jump in the value of imports, which surged up by 1.1 percent to $231.1 billion in November from $228.6 billion in October.

Imports of industrial and supplies and materials saw notable growth during the month due in part to an increase in the value of crude oil imports.

On the other hand, the value of exports edged down by 0.2 percent to $185.8 billion in November from $186.3 billion in October.

The modest drop in exports came as a steep decline in exports of civilian aircraft was partly offset by higher exports of industrial supplies and materials.

Paul Ashworth, Chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, said, "With the price of imported crude oil rising more recently, the deficit will widen a little more over the next few months."

The Commerce Department noted the goods deficit widened to $66.6 billion in November, while the services surplus inched up to $21.4 billion.