The trade deficit in the U.S. took a big leap in December, hitting its highest level in more than two years.
The Commerce Department report shows a hike of 17.1% to $46.6 billion. The percentage is the biggest jump since July of 2009.
That number could be revised down on lower energy costs, but according to Reuters, is still way off from analysts’ forecasts.
Overall in December, imports, excluding petroleum products, rose 2.2% to $241.4 billion. Exports fell 0.8% to $194.9 billion.
Read more on the trade gap on IndustryWeek.
IndustryWeek is an NED companion site within Penton's Manufacturing & Supply Chain Group.