U.S. Trade Deficit Widened Unexpectedly to $36.4 billion in November

The nation experienced a setback on the trade front in November as the U.S. trade deficit increased 9.7% to $36.4 billion, the Commerce Department announced Tuesday. It was the second straight monthly increase for the trade deficit, pushing it to its highest level since January 2009, and it occurred despite the fact that exports rose for the seventh consecutive month. For the month, exports increased by $1.2 billion or 0.9% to $138.2 billion, but imports rose by $4.4 billion or 2.5% to $174.6 billion.