Trade Deficit Up in October After Fall in Exports, Census Says

Exports and imports both fell in October, but the drop in exports was steeper, causing a rise in the U.S. goods and services trade deficit to $42.2 billion, said the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis in their U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services Report for September 2012. The report showed that, as compared to revised September 2012 levels, exports were down $6.8 billion to $180.5 billion, and imports fell $4.9 billion to $222.8 billion. The largest component in the decline in both exports and imports was industrial supplies and materials. As compared to October 2011 totals, exports increased by 1 percent and imports by 0.8 percent. The U.S. trade deficit with China widened to $29.5 billion in October, from a revised $29.1 billion in September.