The United States trade deficit narrowed to its lowest level in almost six years according to a release by the Commerce Department today. The U.S. trade deficit decreased by approximately 4.00 percent as the deficit leveled at $39.9 billion in December following a revised deficit of $41.6 billion in November.
Market forecasts were expecting the deficit to fall further to approximately $36.0 billion for the month. The trade balance decline to a $39.9 billion deficit marked the lowest standing for the balance since 2003.
The U.S. had a total of $133.8 billion worth of exports in December which was a decrease of $8.5 billion from November’s total. December also saw a decrease in imports as it totaled $173.7 billion worth of imports compared with $183.9 billion in November for a decline $10.2 billion. Exports and imports both fell for the fifth straight month in December.
The U.S. trade deficit with China also fell in December. The U.S. deficit with China declined to $19.9 billion in December after a deficit of $23.1 billion in November. Other notable U.S. trade deficits were with the European Union at a $7.0 billion, Japan at $5.3 billion, OPEC at $4.7 billion and Mexico at $4.1 billion. U.S. trade surpluses with other countries for December included Hong Kong at $1.0 billion, Australia at $0.7 billion, Singapore at $0.7 billion and Egypt at $0.2 billion.
U.S. Dollar gains in Forex Trading.
The U.S. dollar has been gaining today in forex trading against the major currencies. The dollar has gained against the euro, Australian dollar, Swiss franc, Japanese yen, British pound, New Zealand dollar and the Canadian dollar.
The euro has fallen versus the dollar as the EUR/USD has declined from today’s 1.2892 opening(00:00 GMT) to trading at approximately 1.2859 in the afternoon of the US trading session at 1:04pm EST.
The British pound has declined today versus the dollar from 1.4502 dollars per pound to trading at 1.4342 dollars per pound. The dollar is trading higher against the Japanese yen today as the USD/JPY trades at 90.59 after opening at 90.37.
The dollar has gained slightly against the Canadian dollar after opening at 1.2430 earlier today to trading later at 1.2439. Against the Swiss franc, the USD has gained ground from the 1.1588 opening to trading at 1.1622.
The New Zealand and Australian dollars are both falling against the US dollar from their opening exchange rates. The NZD/USD currently trades at 0.5241 after opening at 0.5245 while the AUD/USD trades at 0.6524 after opening today at 0.6515.
EUR/USD Chart – The Euro falling against the US Dollar today in Forex Trading and trading below the 21-period simple moving average.
