WASHINGTON: An early look at U.S. trade patterns in December showed a small increase in the nation’s trade deficit. The trade gap in goods — services are excluded — rose 1.6% to a seasonally adjusted $61.5 billion, the government said Friday.
A higher deficit subtracts from gross domestic product. The U.S trade outlook has deteriorated in the past year because of weaker growth in foreign markets and a strong dollar that’s made American exports more expensive.
Exports fell 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to a separate government report on gross domestic product. That contributed to sharply slower growth in the final three months of the year.
The government will release overall trade numbers at the end of next week, but the size of the trade deficit is mostly tied to changes in exports and imports of goods. Trade patterns involving services such as financial advice or help-desk support rarely change much from month to month. The government reported last month that the total U.S. trade deficit in November fell slightly to $42.4 billion.
