US Trade Deficit Narrows Unexpectedly In Nov

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The November U.S. trade deficit narrowed to its lowest level in over a year as American businesses boosted exports and U.S. demand waned for energy products and consumer goods.

The U.S. deficit in international trade of goods and services fell to $38.01 billion from a revised $41.58 billion in October, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The October shortfall was originally reported at $41.77 billion.

The November deficit was the lowest since $35.20 billion recorded in October 2002, Commerce said, and was well below what analysts had predicted ahead of the report. A Dow Jones Newswires-CNBC panel of 19 economists had forecast a deficit of $42.0 billion.

U.S. exports rose for the third straight month, up 2.9% to $90.63 billion, signaling that economic growth abroad may be strengthening. For years U.S. economic growth has outpaced that of its trading partners, resulting in stronger U.S. imports than exports. But the pickup in U.S. exports of capital goods to the highest level since May 2001, up $1.68 billion, indicates the difference may be closing. U.S. exports of consumer goods also rose $550 million, as did exports of foods, feeds, and beverages, up $357 million.

Foreign sales of industrial supplies, like petroleum and metals, fell $58 million, and exports of automobiles and parts also dropped $273 million.

Further narrowing the November trade gap was a 0.8% decline in U.S. imports to $128.64 billion. A $226 million drop in U.S. demand for clothing, jewelry, and other consumer goods indicated restocking by retailers for the Christmas season was largely completed in the previous month. A $1.27 billion plunge in imports of industrial supplies and materials reflected lower demand for energy products.

The nation's energy bill fell to $9.95 billion in November from $10.87 billion in the prior month, even as the average price of a barrel of oil climbed by 27 cents to $26.52. The quantity of foreign crude purchased was 290.21 million barrels, down from 327.44 million in October. In dollar value, the U.S. imported a total $7.70 billion of crude oil, down from $8.59 billion.

U.S. imports of capital goods, like civilian aircraft and telecommunications equipment, rose $207 million in November. Imports of automobiles and parts fell $98 million to $18.24 billion.

Deficits with major trading partners were lower in November across the board. The U.S. posted a $10.82 billion trade shortfall with China, brought lower by record exports to the Pacific Rim nation. The deficit with Japan fell to $5.73 billion.

The shortfall with Canada narrowed to $4.23 billion and the deficit with Mexico narrowed to $3.02 billion. The trade gap with Western Europe also fell to $7.83 billion.

-By Elizabeth Price and Jeff Bater; Dow Jones Newswires; 202 862 9295; elizabeth.price@dowjones.com

=DJ Table of U.S. Goods, Services Trade Balance Data

.                                                         Year To Date
                           NOV.          OCT.        2003        2002

DEFICIT                     38.01         41.58       446.81      375.70
  PREVIOUS REPORT                         41.77
TOTAL IMPORTS              128.64        129.66      1374.94     1268.73
  PERCENT CHANGE            -0.8           2.1          8.4         0.6
TOTAL EXPORTS               90.63         88.09       928.13      893.03
  PERCENT CHANGE             2.9           2.8          3.9        -3.9
MERCHANDISE TRADE           42.61         46.06       488.47      421.95
  DEFICIT % CHANGE          -7.5           1.3         15.8        10.5

(DOLLAR FIGURES IN BILLIONS, PERCENT CHANGES IN MONTHLY
COLUMNS ARE FROM PREVIOUS MONTH.  PERCENT CHANGES IN YEAR-TO-DATE COLUMNS ARE
FROM PREVIOUS YEAR.)

 

  (MORE) Dow Jones Newswires

  01-14-04 0830ET- - 08 30 AM EST 01-14-04
=DJ Table of U.S. Trade Data -2: Imports, Exports

.                                                         YEAR TO DATE
                            NOV.          OCT.         2003        2002

SERVICE IMPORTS               21.22         20.91      223.00      207.21
 TRAVEL                        5.15          4.94       51.61       52.82
 PASSENGER FARES               1.86          1.76       18.63       18.16
 OTHER TRANSPORTATION          3.74          3.80       40.94       34.96
 ROYALTIES, LICENSE FEES       1.64          1.64       17.56       17.73
 OTHER PRIVATE SERVICES        6.58          6.56       69.85       63.38
 DIRECT DEFENSE EXPEND         2.00          1.97       21.66       17.48
 OTHER U.S. GOVERNMENT         0.25          0.25        2.75        2.68

GOODS IMPORTS (CENSUS)       107.17        108.49     1148.71     1058.37
 FOOD, FEED, BEVERAGE          4.87          4.79       50.89       45.18
 INDUSTRIAL (INCL OIL)        25.58         26.85      290.02      243.42
 CAPITAL (EXC AUTOS)          25.69         25.48      268.86      258.63
 AUTOS, PARTS                 18.24         18.34      191.57      186.06
 CONSUMER(EXC AUTO,FOOD)      28.78         29.00      303.70      280.16
 OTHER                         4.02          4.02       43.66       44.92

SERVICE EXPORTS               26.82         26.45      277.34      266.93
 TRAVEL                        6.16          5.85       59.21       60.46
 PASSENGER FARES               1.47          1.39       14.11       15.63
 OTHER TRANSPORTATION          2.72          2.69       28.89       26.53
 ROYALTIES, LICENSE FEES       4.12          4.10       43.95       40.39
 OTHER PRIVATE SERVICES       11.13         11.14      118.87      112.26
 MILITARY SALES CONTRACTS      1.15          1.21       11.58       10.94
 OTHER U.S. GOVERNMENT         0.07          0.07        0.74        0.73

GOODS EXPORTS (CENSUS)        64.57         62.42      660.24      636.42
 FOOD, FEED, BEVERAGE          5.11          4.75       49.27       45.26
 INDUSTRIAL (INCL OIL)        14.69         14.75      157.92      143.21
 CAPITAL (EXC AUTOS)          27.30         25.62      267.57      268.04
 AUTOS, PARTS                  6.65          6.93       73.15       72.46
 CONSUMER(EXC AUTO,FOOD)       8.10          7.55       82.02       77.39
 OTHER                         2.72          2.83       30.29       30.07

(DOLLAR FIGURES IN BILLIONS, SEASONALLY ADJUSTED)

 

  (MORE) Dow Jones Newswires

  01-14-04 0830ET- - 08 30 AM EST 01-14-04
=DJ Table of U.S. Trade Data -3: Balances By Region

.
                            NOV.           OCT.        TO DATE

CANADA                       -4.226         -4.747      -49.894
MEXICO                       -3.023         -3.527      -37.475
EUROPEAN UNION               -7.354         -8.679      -83.972
AUSTRIA                      -0.256         -0.316       -2.388
BELGIUM                       0.474          0.409        4.757
FINLAND                      -0.097         -0.191       -1.793
FRANCE                       -1.174         -1.163      -10.738
GERMANY                      -3.508         -3.626      -35.065
ITALY                        -1.131         -0.977      -13.496
NETHERLANDS                   1.151          1.015        8.732
SPAIN                         0.103         -0.023       -0.615
SWEDEN                       -0.618         -0.765       -7.041
U.K.                         -0.582         -1.302       -7.716
NORWAY                       -0.195         -0.318       -3.457
SWITZERLAND                  -0.272         -0.242       -1.676
HUNGARY                      -0.112         -0.227       -1.673
POLAND                       -0.046         -0.053       -0.522
RUSSIA                       -0.304         -0.105       -5.663
AUSTRALIA                     0.481          0.618        6.168
CHINA                       -10.818        -13.565     -114.086
JAPAN                        -5.728         -6.437      -60.266
HONG KONG                     0.498          0.296        4.000
KOREA                        -1.197         -1.561      -11.462
SINGAPORE                     0.215          0.082        1.463
TAIWAN                       -1.095         -1.122      -13.263
ARGENTINA                    -0.024         -0.024       -0.685
BRAZIL                       -0.391         -0.606       -6.135
COLOMBIA                     -0.181         -0.213       -2.504
INDONESIA                    -0.523         -0.754       -6.586
NIGERIA                      -0.505         -0.896       -8.364
SAUDI ARABIA                 -0.995         -0.923      -12.671
VENEZUELA                    -1.189         -1.285      -12.792
EGYPT                         0.123          0.209        1.373
SOUTH AFRICA                 -0.011         -0.323       -1.726

 

  (MORE) Dow Jones Newswires

  01-14-04 0830ET- - 08 30 AM EST 01-14-04
=DJ Table of U.S. Trade Data -4: Petroleum, Products Imports

.
IMPORTS OF PETROLEUM AND RELATED PRODUCTS
                           NOV.          OCT.

BARRELS (MLNS)              363.89         402.34
  PERCENT CHANGE             -9.6            2.0
VALUE (BLNS)                  9.95          10.86
  PERCENT CHANGE             -8.3            1.1
AVG PRICE PER BARREL        $26.52         $26.25

(DATA FOR PETROLEUM AND GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN ARE REPORTED
ON A CUSTOMS BASIS AND ARE NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED)

 

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires

  01-14-04 0830ET- - 08 30 AM EST 01-14-04

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