Trade deficit hits 14-year high

The U.S. Commerce Department reported Oct. 6 that the gap between goods and services America sells and what it buys abroad climbed 5.9 percent in August to $67.1B, highest since August 2006. Exports rose 2.2 percent to $171.9B on a wave of shipments in soybeans, but imports rose to 3.2 percent to $239B that was led by crude oil, cars and auto parts' purchases. The U.S. deficit - a political football - in the trade of goods such as airplanes and appliances set a record $83.9B in August. The U.S. had a surplus of $16.8B in the trade of services like banking and education, the lowest since January 2012. The deficit in the trade of goods with China fell 6.7 percent to $26.4B. To date, the U.S. has a trade gap of $421.8B, up 5.7 percent from January-to-August 2019. The coronavirus fallout on the global economy sent U.S. export trading down 15.1 percent this year to $3.2T. (Source: Daily Journal) https://www.djournal.com/news/business/us-trade-deficit-in-august-reaches-14-year-high-at-67-1b/article_0f4cbc0f-df67-50f6-bd66-af404af1909d.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1602013584