The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that the U.S. goods and
services trade deficit widened by 10.5 percent to $67.4 billion in December compared
to a revised $61.0 billion (from $61.5 billion) in November. Economists had predicted a gap of $68.5 billion for December.
According to the report, the December advance in the goods and services
deficit reflected a raise in the goods deficit of $7.4 billion to $90.6 billion
and a gain in the services surplus of $1.0 billion to $23.2 billion.
Overall, exports of goods and services from the U.S. fell 0.9 percent
m-o-m to $250.2 billion in December, while imports increased 1.3 percent m-o-m
to $317.6 billion.
For the full 2022, the goods and services deficit surged
12.2 percent from 2021. Exports jumped 17.7 percent, while imports climbed 16.3 percent.