{"source_url": "https://www.marketwatch.com", "url": "https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/guid/5F9A89DE-2B09-11EA-8E57-74CC5456C43E", "title": "U.S. trade deficit in goods drops 5.4% in November to a 27-month low", "top_image": "https://mw1.wsj.net/mw5/content/logos/favicon.ico", "meta_img": "https://mw1.wsj.net/mw5/content/logos/favicon.ico", "images": ["https://mw1.wsj.net/mw5/content/logos/favicon.ico"], "movies": [], "text": "The No. 1 job in America that requires no experience pays $100,000 a year \u2014 and it\u2019s NOT in Silicon Valley\n\nThe Secure Act changes the way people will inherit money \u2014 are you hit by the new rules?\n\nEconomic Report\n\nU.S. trade deficit in goods drops 5.4% in November to a 27-month low\n\nU.S. trade deficit in 2019 still on track to be largest in 11 years\n\nThe numbers: The nation\u2019s trade deficit in goods fell sharply in November for the second month in a row and touched the lowest level in more than two years, but it\u2019s probably not enough to prevent the annual gap in 2019 from being the largest in 11 years.\n\nThe trade gap in goods fell 5.4% to $63.2 billion in November from a revised $66.8 billion in the prior month, according to advanced figures released by the government. That\u2019s the lowest level since August 2017.\n\nThe trade deficit has experienced repeated ups and downs during a two-year trade war with China as companies sought to time orders around the imposition or termination of tariffs. Yet the overall trade deficit itself has continued to creep higher\n\nRead: Wall Street doubts grow as U.S. and China struggle to finish off \u2018skinny\u2019 trade deal\n\nWhat happened: Goods imports slid 1.3% in November to $199.6 billion. The U.S. imported fewer farm, consumer and industrial goods in November.\n\nExports of U.S. goods, meanwhile, rose 0.7% to $136.4 billion. The U.S. exported more crops, autos and industrial supplies.\n\nMost trading between countries involves goods such as autos, airplanes, oil, chemicals, electronics, clothing and the like.\n\nThe full November trade report comes out next week and includes services. The U.S. has run a surplus for years in services such as banking, tourism and entertainment, but they reflect a smaller portion of overall trade.\n\nThe advanced report also showed no change in wholesale inventories in November and a 0.7% gain in retail inventories.\n\nThe advanced figures suggest gross domestic product could be somewhat higher in the fourth quarter than Wall Street has been forecasting.\n\nBig picture: The sharp decline in the trade deficit for the second month in a row came as a big surprise, but it doesn\u2019t really change the overall picture. The U.S. has run large trade deficits for years despite on-and-off efforts by Washington to rein them in.\n\nWhile the Trump administration\u2019s tough stance toward China has cause imports from that country to decline, imports from other countries have risen.\n\nWhat they are saying? \u201cThe White House would like to see more of this, but for once at least, the U.S. trade deficit showed a solid, and surprising improvement in November,\u201d said senior economist Avery Shenfeld of CIBC World Markets. \u201cThe result could bump up forecasts a bit for [fourth-quaqrter] GDP, but its too early to call this a trend, particularly with a lot of it coming from a weaker import picture.\u201d\n\nMarket reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA-0.3% and S&P 500 SPX-0.32% were set to open higher in Monday trades.\n\nRead: It\u2019s great the stock market is setting records, but it\u2019s not because economy is great\n\nThe 10-year Treasury yield BX:TMUBMUSD10Y+2.39% edged up to 1.93%.\n\nSee original version of this story", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": ["united states", "investing", "securities", "debt", "bond markets", "economic news", "equity markets"], "tags": [], "authors": [], "publish_date": null, "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "The nation\u2019s trade deficit in goods fell sharply in November for the second month in a row and touched the lowest level in more than two years, but it\u2019s probably not enough to prevent the annual gap in 2019 from being the largest in 11 years. The trade gap in goods fell 5.4% to $63.2 billion.", "meta_lang": "", "meta_favicon": "https://mw1.wsj.net/mw5/content/logos/favicon.ico", "meta_data": {"robots": "noarchive,noodp", "description": "The nation\u2019s trade deficit in goods fell sharply in November for the second month in a row and touched the lowest level in more than two years, but it\u2019s probably not enough to prevent the annual gap in 2019 from being the largest in 11 years. The trade gap in goods fell 5.4% to $63.2 billion.", "keywords": "united states, investing, securities, debt, bond markets, economic news, equity markets", "viewport": "width=device-width,minimum-scale=1,initial-scale=1"}, "canonical_link": "https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-trade-deficit-in-goods-drops-54-in-november-to-a-26-month-low-2019-12-30"}