The U.S.
Commerce Department announced on Wednesday that the U.S. goods and services trade
deficit widened by 0.5 per cent to $62.2 billion in December 2023 compared
to a revised shortfall of $61.9 billion (from $63.2 billion) in November.
Economists had expected
a gap of $62.2 billion for December.
According to
the report, the December increase in the goods and services deficit reflected a
rise in the goods deficit of $0.7 billion to $89.1 billion and an advance in
the services surplus of $0.4 billion to $26.9 billion.
Overall,
exports of goods and services from the U.S. jumped 1.5 per cent m-o-m to $258.2
billion in December,
while imports also climbed 1.3 per cent m-o-m to $320.4 billion.
For the full 2023, the goods and services deficit tumbled 18.7 per cent from 2022. Exports increased 1.2 per
cent, while imports plunged 3.6 per cent.