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Oil Sends Trade Deficit to 14-Month High

Soaring crude prices overshadow strong growth in US exports

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 11, 2008 11:15 AM CST
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(Newser) – The trade deficit widened 9.3% to $63.1 billion in November, despite a healthy growth in exports. With the dollar down, and demand for US goods rising in Asia and Latin America, exports moved at a healthy clip. But spending on imported oil overshadowed everything else, Bloomberg reports. “It comes down to three things: oil, oil, and oil,” said one economist.

Record oil prices accounted for two-thirds of the 3% import climb. Because oil prices went even higher in December, the gap will likely remain elevated into 2008. But exports grew for the ninth consecutive month, a record, representing the lone bright spot in the current economy. The US trade gap with China, meanwhile, shrank.

Graphic shows the quarterly current account trade deficit as of Dec. 17.
Graphic shows the quarterly current account trade deficit as of Dec. 17.   (Associated Press)
Shipping containers are stacked on a cargo ship as it makes its way to the Port of Newark in Newark, N.J. in this Aug. 29, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)
Shipping containers are stacked on a cargo ship as it makes its way to the Port of Newark in Newark, N.J. in this Aug. 29, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)   (Associated Press)
A passenger ferry crosses Halifax harbor through Arctic sea smoke in front of Imperial Oil's Dartmouth refinery on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008 in Halifax, N.S. As the price of crude oil hovers around the $100 mark, North American consumers are paying a premium to fuel their cars and heat...
A passenger ferry crosses Halifax harbor through Arctic sea smoke in front of Imperial Oil's Dartmouth refinery on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008 in Halifax, N.S. As the price of crude oil hovers around the...   (Associated Press)
Wayne Holland of the Suburban Propane company delivers oil in Barre, Vt., Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008. With oil at the once unfathomable price of $100 a barrel, consumers can expect the cost of filling their gas tanks, heating their homes - in fact, the price of most everything - to...
Wayne Holland of the Suburban Propane company delivers oil in Barre, Vt., Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008. With oil at the once unfathomable price of $100 a barrel, consumers can expect the cost of filling their...   (Associated Press)
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Why the trade deficit matters
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US-China trade deficit • imports • trade deficit • US dollar • US exports • weak dollar

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