US Trade Deficit Narrows From a More Than Two-Year High

  • Gap in goods and services trade shrank almost 12% in October
  • Decline in merchandise imports was broad across categories

A tractor-trailer truck arrives at the Port of Baltimore in Maryland. 

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
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The US trade deficit narrowed in October from a more than two-year high as companies dialed back imports of consumer goods and business equipment.

The nation’s goods and services trade gap shrank nearly 12% from the prior month to $73.8 billion, Commerce Department data showed Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a $75 billion shortfall.