Posted on 11/12/2004 6:39:20 AM PST by 1rudeboy
By Christopher Swann in Washington
Published: November 10 2004 13:51 | Last updated: November 10 2004 13:51
The US trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in September, reflecting a fall in energy imports and a pick up in exports, according to data released on Wednesday.
The trade shortfall fell by $1.9bn to $51.6bn, compared with forecasts of a deficit of about $53.5bn.
The figures pointed to a stronger performance by US exporters. Exports of goods climbed by $900m to $68.9bn, offsetting a $100m fall in service exports to $28.5bn. Sales of semiconductors, computers and food were particularly strong.
HSBC said the improvement in the trade position could lead to an upward revision to economic growth in the third quarter from 3.7 per cent to 4 per cent.
In addition to the rise in exports, the deficit was reduced by a fall in energy imports. Despite a 3.5 per cent rise in the price of energy per unit, the total import bill fell by $500m to $124.5bn due to a 10 per cent decline in volumes. Imports of pharmaceuticals, semi-conductors and computers also fell.
Economists said the figures were encouraging but many expect the deficit to widen again, since US growth continues to outpace the expansion in Japan or the eurozone.
Goldman Sachs dismissed suggestions that the improvement in September was due to the hurricanes in the south-east of the US, pointing out that most ports were unaffected. But in a research note published on Tuesday it said the report was unlikely to signal a turning point in the trade deficit.
The figures did little to help the dollar, which has been edging to new lows against the euro. On Wednesday, the euro hit a record high against the dollar at $1.305 before falling back to around $1.29.
Analysts have become increasingly pessimistic over the outlook for the dollar after the currency failed to rally in response to there-election of President George W. Bush and a dramatic improvement in the employment figures. The strong jobs figures at the end of last week were seen as a mixed blessing for the dollar, increasing confidence in robust growth and higher investment returns but also underlining that the deficit may expand further if US growth accelerates.
Many economists say the dollar will increasingly be dragged down by the bloated US current account deficit, despite interest rate rises by the Federal Reserve.
Import prices for October were also released yesterday showing a 1.5 per cent rise in October. This largely reflected an 11.7 per cent rise in petroleum prices.
BTW, did you miss a decimal point?
Thanks for the link. I have a sneaking suspicion that taxes withheld is only a small part of taxes paid. What do you think?
I'll give you a concrete example - if you buy a piece of real property from a foreigner, theoretically you're supposed to withhold 10% of the purchase price and mail it to the IRS as a down payment on the capital gains tax for them. But the minimum tax on such a capital gain is 26%, so obviously the withholding accounts for less than half of the tax due in many cases. QED.
I don't think so, but as the Toddster points out, withholding is not the sum total of all taxes paid. That's just the tax that was prepaid, not the total due on filing.
Maybe. The 10% is of the entire purchase price. The 26% is only the capital gain. Gain could be zero or there could be a loss. I thought your original $1,320,828,000 sounded low, but at least you had data. Too many on this thread and others post what they "feel", not what they can prove.
Is it? I seem to recall that it's 10% of the estimated capital gains, but I haven't looked in a while...
How would the buyer know what the sellers capital gain is? Your previous post said 10% of sale.....
Yah, good point - this is what I get with not enough coffee in me ;)
Yep, this was the thread where some yob was "explaining" to me that foreign corporations don't pay income taxes. Whatever happened to him, apart from his modified claim that foreign corporations do not pay "enough?"
Like Willie, when he loses an argument, he runs away and pouts.
Elementary school dropouts are people too.
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