U.S. Trade Deficit Unexpectedly Widens In December

(RTTNews) - Reflecting a surge in imports and a slump in exports, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly widened in the month of December.

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit grew to $70.3 billion in December from a revised $53.0 billion in November.

Economists had expected the trade deficit to shrink to $55.8 billion from the $56.8 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The unexpectedly wider trade deficit came as the value of imports shot up by 3.6 percent to $357.6 billion, while the exports tumbled by 1.7 percent to $287.3 billion.