The politically sensitive US trade deficit widened more than expected in August to its second-highest level on record, fueled by the highest oil import prices in 23 years and record imports from China, the US government said today.
The monthly trade gap totaled $54 billion, expanding nearly 7% from a revised $50.6 billion for July, the Commerce Department report said.
Analysts surveyed before the report had estimated the August deficit at $51.5 billion. The gap hit an all-time high of $55 billion in June.
A separate government report showed the number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits increased more than expected in the week ended October 9. The Labour Department said 352,000 people filed initial jobless claims, compared to pre-report forecasts of 340,000 and a revised tally of 337,000 for the previous week.
US imports from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries hit a record $8.9 billion, pushing wider the trade deficit with those countries to a record $7 billion. Average prices for imported oil in August rose more than $3 a barrel from July to $36.37, the highest since June 1981, the Commerce Department said.
Strong world demand and fears of supply disruptions have been pushing up world oil prices, with US crude market prices reaching record territory well above $50 a barrel in recent weeks.
The politically sensitive trade deficit with China widened to a record $15.4 billion in August as imports hit a record $18.1 billion. The Bush administration so far has been stymied in its effort to persuade China to adopt more flexible exchange rate policies - a step that US manufacturers said would help reverse the growing bilateral gap.
