COMMERCE/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. posted its largest monthly trade deficit since the recession for December, as stronger global growth increased demand for American-made products while robust U.S. consumer spending boosted imports even more.
The foreign-trade gap in goods and services expanded 5.3% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted $53.1 billion in December, the highest since October 2008, the Commerce Department said Tuesday [2-6-18]. That was far wider than the trade deficit of $52.0 billion economists had expected…
Imports increased 2.5% in December to a record $256.5 billion, reflecting higher imports of consumer goods like cellphones in a key month of the holiday season, as well as higher imports of vehicles and capital goods.
Exports, meanwhile, rose 1.8% to $203.4 billion. Exports of industrial supplies like chemicals grew, as did exports of capital goods like civilian aircraft…
The U.S. economy has run trade deficits for decades, during both economic expansions and recessions, which economists say reflects the fact that Americans consume more than they produce relative to the rest of the world.”
-Harriet Torry, “U.S. Trade Gap in December Was Widest in Nine Years,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 6, 2018 10:07am