The US trade deficit widened more than expected in December and grew 6.5 per cent during all of 2006 to a record $763.6 billion, a US Commerce Department report revealed today.
The monthly trade gap totalled $61.2 billion, up 5.3 per cent from November as oil prices rebounded and Americans imported record amounts of consumer goods and autos and auto parts.
The December shortfall exceeded the median forecast of $59.5 billion made by Wall Street analysts surveyed before the report.
US exports of goods and services, which have benefited recently from stronger foreign economic growth and a decline in the value of the dollar, totalled a record $125.5 billion in December.
The same factors helped boost total exports in 2006 to a record $1.44 trillion, up 12.8 per cent from the prior year. Exports grew faster than imports, which rose 10.5 per cent in 2006 to $2.20 trillion.
Despite setting a new record, the growth in the trade deficit slowed in 2006 from the blistering 17.3 per cent pace in 2005.