US trade gap widens 18.2pc in September

[Naveed Yaseen]

WASHINGTON: The US trade deficit widened in September by an unexpectedly large 18.2 per cent, the largest increase in more than 10 years, as oil prices rose for the seventh straight month and imports from China bounded higher.

Adding urgency to talks President Barack Obama will have with Chinese leaders in coming days, the monthly trade gap grew to $36.5 billion, from a slightly revised estimate of $30.8 billion in August, the Commerce Department said on Friday.

The monthly trade gap grew to $36.5 billion, from a slightly revised estimate of $30.8 billion in August, the Commerce Department said on Friday.

Wall Street analysts had expected the shortfall to grow modestly in September to around $31.65 billion.

Both US exports and imports had their best month since December 2008. But in a sign of renewed US economic growth, imports grew 5.8 per cent in September, the biggest monthly gain since March 1993, while exports rose 2.9 per cent.

Some analysts had expected more of an export boost because the drop in the value of the dollar against other major currencies makes American goods more competitive overseas.

But “the overall upturn in US demand is trumping the fall of the dollar,” said Craig Peckham, an equity trading strategist with Jefferies and Company in New York. Imports of industrial supplies and materials showed the biggest gain in September, suggesting that US manufacturers are ramping up for production.

International trade flows are picking up as massive stimulus from governments and central banks lift the global economy out of its deepest swoon since the 1930s.

The EU statistics office Eurostate said the euro-zone economy grew 0.4 per cent in the third quarter from the second quarter, snapping the region’s recession.

The US government said last month the US economy grew at an annual rate 3.5 per cent in the third quarter after four contractionary quarters.

The average price for imported oil leapt to $68.17 per barrel and imports from the Organisation of Petroleum Export Countries increased to $11.9 billion in September, both the highest since November 2008.

A separate report showed US import prices rose for the third straight month in October, pushed up by a jump in the cost of fuel imports and the depreciating dollar. Import prices advanced 0.7 per cent after a revised 0.2 per cent increase in September that was previously reported as a 0.1 per cent gain, the Labour Department said.

The weak US dollar is helping to lift US exports, but at the same time, analysts cite it as a factor pushing up the price of oil and other commodities.

The US dollar extended losses against the yen after the trade data. US stock index futures held gains, while US Treasury debt prices were steady at lower levels. “Although import prices were up, they were up less than expected. Again, with the weak dollar, you would have thought you would have seen more inflation on import prices,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer with Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills New York.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=208380