US Annual Trade Deficit Shrinks For First Time In 6 Years

The US trade deficit increased in December after shrinking to its smallest since trump was elected in November…

Source: Bloomberg

• Imports rose 2.7% in Dec. to $258.52b from $251.75b in Nov.

• Exports rose 0.8% in Dec. to $209.64b from $208.06b in Nov.

This left the annual trade deficit at $616.755 billion – the first shrinkage of the trade deficit since 2013…

Source: Bloomberg

The annual merchandise-trade deficit with China — the principal target of Trump’s trade war — narrowed 17.6% to $345.6 billion after hitting a record in 2018. Imports from the country slumped 16.2%, exceeding the drop in 2009 during the global financial crisis, while shipments to China declined 11.3%, the biggest drop since at least 2003.

That pushed China down to third place among America’s top trading partners for goods in 2019, as Mexico vaulted to the top spot, slightly ahead of Canada.

However, it is crude exports that have enabled this ‘miracle’ as the non-petroleum goods deficit was $839.2 billion, a record high.

For the full year, exports fell 0.1% to $2.5 trillion as shipments of civilian aircraft declined amid the grounding of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max plane, while sales of autos, consumer goods and petroleum gained. Imports fell 0.4% to $3.12 trillion on lower purchases of crude oil, computer accessories and telecommunications equipment.