Khaberni - Data from the US Department of Commerce, released today Thursday, showed the US trade deficit widened in November at the fastest rate in about 34 years, driven by a rise in imports of capital goods linked to an investment boom in artificial intelligence, which may lead economic experts to lower growth estimates for the fourth quarter.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Statistics of the US Department of Commerce explained that the deficit increased by 94.6 percent to reach 56.8 billion dollars, the largest increase since March 1992, according to what was reported by (CNBC).
Imports rose by 5 percent to reach 348.9 billion dollars, while merchandise imports increased by 6.6 percent to 272.5 billion dollars. Capital goods recorded a record increase of 7.4 billion dollars, supported by a strong increase in imports of computers and semiconductors, while imports of computer accessories decreased by three billion dollars.
Imports of consumer goods also increased by 9.2 billion dollars supported by pharmaceutical products, which saw significant fluctuations possibly due to US customs duties, while imports of industrial supplies declined by 2.4 billion dollars.
Exports decreased by 3.6 percent, to reach 292.1 billion dollars in November, while merchandise exports decreased by 5.6 percent to 185.6 billion dollars.
