US trade deficit narrows to $51.6 billion
According to the US Commerce Department preliminary data, US trade deficit narrowed to $51.6 billion in September with a decrease of 3.7% against August due to strong Euro and the hurricane. In the mentioned period, imports were recorded as $149 billion, down by 0.8% while exports rose by 0.8% to $97.5 billion. Despite higher prices, the nation's bill for imported crude oil fell to $11.4 billion because imports were disrupted by a powerful hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. The US trade gap with European Union amounted to $7.7 billion with a decline of 20% while the gap with the Euro zone decreased by 29% to $5.7 billion. The value of the Euro has strengthened against the Dollar, reducing the relative competitiveness of European goods. At the same, the trade gap with China widened to a record $15.5 billion on the back of record imports of $18.4 billion. The trade gap in August was revised down to $53.5 billion from $54 billion.