Trade Gap in U.S. Widens for Second Month on Oil

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The U.S. trade deficit widened in December for a second month as the cost of imported oil climbed to the highest level in two years.

The gap grew 5.9 percent to $40.6 billion, in line with the $40.5 billion median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists, Commerce Department data showed today in Washington. Excluding petroleum, the shortfall shrank to $15.3 billion, the smallest since March.