October U.S. Trade Deficit at Record $68.9 Billion

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the U.S. trade deficit for October was $68.9 Billion. Imports increased to a record $176.4 billion from $171.8 Billion in September.


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The October record was the result of the significant increase in imports and only a small increase in exports.

Imports from China set another record of $24.4 Billion, while exports to China increased slightly to $3.9 Billion. Imports from Japan increased to $12.2 billion from $10.9 Billion in September.

The Petroleum deficit set another record of $24.2 Billion, up from the previous record of $22.3 Billion in September. The increase in the petroleum deficit was mostly due to a 25% surge in the import of refined products that added almost $2 Billion to the October deficit.