US Trade Deficit Shrinks to Lowest Level in 6 Years

The U.S. trade deficit fell 4 percent in December to 39.9 billion dollars, the lowest level in nearly six years, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday.

U.S. exports of goods and services fell by 6 percent in the month to 133.8 billion dollars while imports dropped by a record 5.5 percent to 173.7 billion dollars.

Imports of autos and auto parts fell to 14.9 billion dollars, the lowest level since May 1999.

Oil imports dropped by 6.7 percent to 22.3 billion dollars. The average price for imported oil dropped to 49.93 dollars per barrel in the month as recession fears deepened.

For the year of 2008, the U.S. trade deficit fell by 3.3 percent to 677.1 billions, down from the 2007 deficit of 700.3 billion dollars.

The 2007 imbalance marked the first annual improvement after five straight years of record deficits. The worst was 753.3 billion dollars set in 2006.

Analysts expect the trade deficit to shrink further this year as a recession depresses demand for imported products.

Source: CRIEnglish