By CountingPips.com
The United States trade deficit decreased by more than expected in October as a result of increased exports and decreased imports, according to a release by the Commerce Department today. The U.S. trade deficit declined by $5.9 billion or 13.2 percent as the deficit leveled at $38.7 billion in October following a revised deficit of $44.6 billion in 
September. September’s deficit was originally reported at 44.0 billion last month.
The trade data surpassed market forecasts that were expecting a deficit of approximately $43.8 billion for the month.
The U.S. exported a total of $158.7 billion worth of goods and services in October which was an increase of $4.9 billion from September’s total. Imports of goods and services fell to a total of $197.4 billion compared with a total of $198.4 billion in September for a decline of $1.0 billion.
The politically sensitive U.S. trade deficit with China edged lower in October with a $25.5 billion shortfall following a deficit of $27.8 billion in September. Other notable U.S. trade deficits were with the European Union at $7.1 billion, Mexico at $5.8 billion, Japan at $5.7 billion and OPEC also at $5.7 billion.
The U.S. trade surpluses with other countries for September included Hong Kong at $1.9 billion, Singapore at $0.6 billion, Australia at $1.3 billion and Egypt at $0.5 billion.
U.S. Dollar mostly lower in forex trading
The U.S. dollar has been trending slightly lower in trading in the forex markets following today’s trade deficit while the American stock markets are a tad higher. The dollar has edged higher versus the Japanese yen while declining against the Australian dollar, British pound sterling, Swiss franc and the Canadian dollar, according to currency data by Oanda just after noon in the US trading session. The euro and the New Zealand dollar are both currently trading closet to unchanged against the American currency.
The U.S. stock markets, meanwhile, are slightly up today with the Dow Jones gaining by approximately 10 points, the Nasdaq up by approximately 8 points and the S&P 500 higher by just around 3 points at time of writing.
Oil has traded lower by $0.99 to $87.38 per barrel while gold futures have dropped sharply by $14.60 to the $1377.50 per ounce level.
