Credit: Reuters/Bob Riha Jr.
Cargo containers are ready for transportation at the Port of Los Angeles October 27, 2014.
growth in the final three months of the year.
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday the trade gap increased 7.6 percent to $43.03 billion. August's trade deficit was revised to $39.99 billion from a previously reported $40.11 billion shortfall.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the deficit narrowing slightly to $40.00 billion. When adjusted for inflation, the trade deficit increased to $50.76 billion from $48.22 billion.
September's shortfall in the overall trade balance is bigger than the $38.1 billion deficit that the government had assumed in its advance gross domestic product (GDP) estimate for the third quarter published last week.
This suggests the 3.5 percent annual growth pace it estimated will probably be trimmed when the government publishes its revisions later this month. Trade was reported to have contributed 1.32 percentage points to GDP growth.
Exports in September fell 1.5 percent to $195.59 billion, the lowest since April, a sign that weakening demand in key markets such as China and the euro zone was starting to weigh.
Exports are likely to weaken further after a survey of U.S. manufacturers published on Monday showed a decline in a gauge of export order growth.
Apart from slowing global demand, export growth is seen crimped by a strong dollar, which has so far this year strengthened by about 4 percent against the currencies of the country's main trading partners.
The decline in exports in September was broad-based, with the exception of food and beverages, which rose. Exports to the European Union fell 6.5 percent in September, while those to China slipped 3.2 percent. Exports to Japan tumbled 14.7 percent. There were also declines in exports to
Mexico and Brazil.
Overall imports were unchanged in September as petroleum imports hit their lowest level since November 2009. A domestic energy boom has seen the United States reduce its dependence on foreign oil, helping to temper the trade deficit.
Consumer goods imports, however, were the highest on record, as were non-petroleum imports. Imports from China also hit an all-time high, leaving the politically sensitive trade gap at $35.6 billion, the highest on record. Imports from Canada were the highest since July 2008.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
Entities 0 Name: China Count: 3 1 Name: Brazil Count: 1 2 Name: Canada Count: 1 3 Name: Andrea Ricci Count: 1 4 Name: Lucia Mutikani Count: 1 5 Name: U.S. Count: 1 6 Name: Mexico Count: 1 7 Name: United States Count: 1 8 Name: Port of Los Angeles Count: 1 9 Name: Reuters Count: 1 10 Name: Japan Count: 1 11 Name: European Union Count: 1 12 Name: Commerce Department Count: 1 13 Name: Riha Jr. Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1x7Mqte Title: Weaker orders at Canton Fair signal China export boost may not be sustainable Description: Credit: Reuters/Alex Lee A view shows people visiting different booths at the Guandong Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, Guangdong province May 4, 2014. The China Import and Export Fair, popularly known as the Canton Fair, generated 179.2 billion yuan ($29.30 billion), organizers said in a statement on Tuesday, the final day of the event that began on Oct.
