By CountingPips.com
The United States trade deficit increased in November with the help of a rise in imports according to a release by the Commerce Department today. The U.S. trade deficit rose by 9.7% percent to $36.4 billion in November following a revised deficit of $33.2 billion in October. The November deficit increased by more than expected as market forecasts were expecting that the deficit would rise to approximately $34.9 billion for the month.
Contributing to the increased deficit level was an increase in November imports by 2.6 percent to a total of $174.6 billion. Imports of petroleum products jumped by 7.3 percent for the month. U.S. exports also rose for the month to a
The U.S. trade deficit with China fell in November, despite the overall deficit increase. The deficit with China decreased to $20.2 billion in November from a deficit of $22.7 billion in October while other notable U.S. trade deficits were with the European Union at $6.4 billion, Japan at $5.4 billion, Mexico at $5.1 billion, OPEC at $6.1 billion and Canada at $1.4 billion.
U.S. trade surpluses with other countries for November included Australia at $1.0 billion, Hong Kong at $1.4 billion, Singapore at $0.7 billion and Egypt at $0.2 billion.
US Dollar mixed in Forex Trading.
The U.S. dollar has been mixed in forex trading today against the other major currencies. The dollar has gained today versus the Canadian dollar, New Zealand dollar and the Australian dollar while falling against the euro, Japanese yen and the British pound at 12:15 pm EST according to currency data by Oanda. The dollar is trading virtually unchanged against the Swiss franc from today’s opening rate.
The U.S. stock markets have been negative so far today with the Dow Jones falling by over 40 points, the Nasdaq decreasing over 20 points and the S&P 500 down by over 8 points. Oil has edged down by $0.98 to $81.54 while gold is unchanged to trade at the $1,150.00 per ounce level.
GBP/USD 1H Chart – The British Pound Sterling increasing versus the US Dollar today in forex trading. The GBP/USD ascended to the 1.6195 level today to establish its highest trading level since January 4th when the pair topped out at 1.6241.
