Trade
US Goods-Trade Deficit Narrows to Smallest in Nearly Two Years
- Shortfall decreased by most since 2009 on plunge in imports
- Inbound shipments of consumer goods dropped 13% last month
Shipping containers at the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, California.
Photographer: Tim Rue/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The US merchandise-trade deficit narrowed in November to the smallest since December 2020 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.