Trade Gap Shrank in 2013 as U.S. Fuel Exports Climbed: Economy
The U.S. trade deficit in 2013 was the smallest since 2009, even as it ticked up at year’s end, as rising fuel exports and falling imports propelled the world’s biggest economy further toward energy independence.
The gap narrowed to $471.5 billion last year, the lowest since 2009, from $534.7 billion in 2012, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The balance on petroleum products shrank 20.2 percent, also the biggest decline in four years.
Foreign sales went beyond fuel as demand for American-produced foods, capital equipment, autos and consumer goods all climbed to records in 2013, evidence of the rebound in global demand that will probably keep driving exports this year. Another report showing claims for jobless benefits dropped last week points to a healing in the U.S. labor market that will help boost consumer spending, ensuring imports also grow.
“The trade deficit will continue to narrow a bit over the course of 2014, mostly thanks to a smaller petroleum trade deficit,” said Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities USA Inc. in New York and the second-best trade forecaster over the past two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “We’ll see another year of moderate growth.”
Stocks rose, with equities trimming a weekly loss, as investors were heartened by the decline in unemployment claims and weighed earnings releases of companies from Walt Disney Co. to Twitter Inc. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 1 percent to 1,769.66 at 1:11 p.m. in New York.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-06/trade-gap-widened-more-than-forecast-in-december-as-exports-fell.html