Container ship at industrial port. Credit: philipus/Adobe Stock
The U.S. merchandise-trade deficit narrowed in November to the smallest in nearly two years due to a plunge in imports.
The shortfall decreased 15.6%, the most since 2009, to $83.3 billion last month, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday. The figures, which aren’t adjusted for inflation, compared with a median estimate for a gap of $96.3 billion in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Imports retreated 7.6% to $252.2 billion, the lowest in more than a year. The value of exports declined 3.1% to $168.9 billion.
The decline in imports was broad based, led by a 13% drop in the value of consumer goods. Other inbound shipments of autos, food and beverages and industrial supplies also decreased, as did most export categories.
While imports of consumer merchandise have fallen from a record earlier this year, they remain well higher than the pre-pandemic average. Americans have largely been spending on services instead of goods in recent months.
Retail inventories ticked up 0.1% in November to $738.7 billion from a month earlier. They had been declining as companies worked through stockpiles by offering steep discounts in the lead-up to the holiday-shopping season.
The Federal Reserve’s most aggressive monetary tightening since the early 1980s has sent the U.S. dollar surging, with the greenback strengthening against all Group of 10 and major Asian currencies this year. While that lowers the cost of imports, it also weakens demand in international markets for U.S.-produced goods.
Ana Monteiro reports for Bloomberg News.
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