U.S. trade deficit narrows as oil and Chinese imports drop

Skidding oil prices helped push the United States trade deficit to its lowest point in five years in November, as the country imported less goods amid a sharp economic slowdown.

The gap between the value of imports and exports narrowed to $40.4 billion in November, from $56.7 billion a month earlier, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. That marked a 28.7 percent decline in one month.


The trade deficit shrank as American consumers clipped their demand for foreign-made consumer goods, and tumbling energy prices slashed the value of imported oil and gas. Petroleum imports dropped 36.5 percent to $23.6 billion.

Even excluding energy prices, the so-called core trade deficit narrowed in November.

IHT