Balance Of Trade

The U.S. trade deficit shrank more than forecast in December and showed the first annual drop since 2001 as the faltering economy eroded demand for imported autos and consumer goods. The gap narrowed 6.9% from November to $58.8 billion, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Imports fell 1.1%, and exports rose 1.5%.

The Commerce Department on Wednesday set preliminary anti-dumping duties of as much as 210% on millions of off-road tires from China that it said were being sold in the United States at unfairly low prices. The tires were the sixth Chinese product to be hit with U.S. anti-dumping duties since the start of the year. The others include nails, certain steel pipe, a teeth-whitening ingredient and laminated woven sacks used to package items such as dog food and bird seed.

Mexico and the U.S. are about to eliminate the last tariffs on goods they trade, prompting opposition by lawmakers and farmers in both countries who anticipate a flood of cheap imports. In Mexico, farmers plan nationwide protests over what will be the final step in implementing the North American Free Trade Agreement on Jan. 1 and eliminating tariffs on American-grown beans and corn. The U.S. will drop tariffs on flip-flops, glassware and sugar, the most price-sensitive import.

The U.S. trade deficit widened slightly in October as a record price for imported oil outweighed the export-spurring benefits of a weaker dollar, a Commerce Department report showed Wednesday. Rising oil costs also propelled U.S. import prices 2.7% higher in November -- the largest gain in 17 years -- raising concerns about inflation, according to a separate report from the Labor Department. The monthly trade gap widened 1.2% to $57.

November was another banner month for Chinese exports, bringing the country's trade surplus with the rest of the world for this year to a record $238 billion, officials said Tuesday. Last month, China's exports totaled $117.6 billion and imports $91.3 billion, according to Chinese customs statistics. The resulting $26.3-billion surplus was the third-highest monthly figure on record.

China on Monday posted a record monthly trade surplus for October, but the total was smaller than expected, suggesting that policies to restrain exports and promote imports might finally be having an effect. The figures will be a relief to the Chinese authorities, who are under growing pressure from the United States and the European Union to reduce the imbalance. The surplus came in at $27.05 billion, surpassing the record of $26.9 billion set in June. It also topped September's $23.

Fueled by the weak dollar, U.S. exports have surged to their highest level ever, narrowing the trade gap significantly and boosting hopes that the economy will post even higher growth before slowing in the coming months. Exports hit a record $140.1 billion in September, the Commerce Department reported Friday, reducing the trade deficit to $56.5 billion -- the lowest level since May 2005.

The weak dollar produced economic benefits in August as U.S. exports rose sharply, helping shrink the country's trade deficit to its smallest size since January, the government reported Thursday. Economists had been expecting for months that the cheap dollar, which in recent weeks has traded at record lows against the euro, would spur exports, said Gary Hufbauer, an economist with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. A weak dollar can help U.S.

The U.S. trade deficit declined slightly in July, helped by record exports that offset the biggest foreign oil bill in nearly a year. But even a spate of recalls did not stop the deficit with China from climbing to the second-highest level on record. The trade deficit edged down 0.3% in July to $59.2 billion from $59.4 billion the month before, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. It was the lowest monthly imbalance since April. This year the deficit, which hit $758.

China said today that it would let citizens invest directly in the Hong Kong stock market, a move that will broaden options for savings-rich Chinese and help Beijing offset massive capital inflows from its trade surplus and foreign investments. The news added more fuel to Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets, extending a rally triggered by the Federal Reserve's cut Friday in a key lending rate. China has long restricted capital outflows, but with foreign reserves of more than $1.