U.S. Trade Deficit Widens Significant In December As Imports Jump, Exports Plunge

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed the U.S. trade deficit widened significantly in December, as imports surged and exports plunged.

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit spiked to $98.4 billion in December from a revised $78.9 billion in November.

Economists had expected the trade deficit to jump to $96.6 billion from the $78.2 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The substantial increase in the size of the trade deficit came as the value of imports shot up by 3.5 percent to $364.9 billion, while the value of exports tumbled by 2.6 percent to $266.5 billion.