US Trade Deficit Unexpectedly Worsens As Exports Slump Again In December

For the second month in a row, US exports declined and imports rose in December, pushing the US trade balance significantly deeper into deficit.

Imports rose (+3.6% vs +0.1% MoM exp) and exports fell (-1.7% vs +0.1% MoM exp) for the second month in a row...

Source: Bloomberg

Industrial Supplies appears to have seen the biggest shift in trade...

Gold imports fell back near their lowest since 2019...

The result of all this is a second monthly decline in the trade balance (worsening deficit)...

...dramatically worse than the Trump-bragged-about October highs.