December 14, 200421 yr courtesy cbc.ca Last Updated Tue, 14 Dec 2004 11:30:57 EST WASHINGTON - The U.S. trade deficit continues to swell to new records, hitting $55.5 billion US in October. The U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday that the trade deficit grew by 8.9 per cent from September, even though U.S. exports in October were higher than ever before. Surging imports from China and rising energy prices were the big drivers in the growth of the U.S. trade deficit. The trade gap with China expanded to a record $16.8 billion as imports from China touched new highs. An 11-per-cent increase in the price of oil between September and October also drove up the U.S. trade deficit because of the country's reliance on imported oil. The U.S. trade gap was worse than the $52.4-billion deficit that economists had been forecasting. Don't really know the significance of it but thought others would like to know.
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