U.S. Trade Deficit Widens As Imports Jump More Than Exports

(RTTNews) - With imports increasing by more than exports, the Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing the U.S. trade deficit widened in the month of December.

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit increased to $62.2 billion in December from a revised $61.9 billion in November.

Economists had expected the trade deficit to narrow to $62.2 billion from the $63.2 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The wider trade deficit came as the value of imports shot up by $4.2 billion or 1.3 percent, while the value of exports jumped by $3.9 billion or 1.5 percent.