"We will see a widening trade deficit this year as imports grow faster than exports"
- Jay Bryson, a senior global economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC
U.S. trade deficit widened to a six-month high of $48.8 billion in December, up by $1.7 billion compared to November, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced on Friday.
"Growth in consumer and business demand is pretty good and that is helping to pull in imports," said Jay Bryson, a senior global economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. "We will see a widening trade deficit this year as imports grow faster than exports."
In a separate report, the University of Michigan said consumers turned less optimistic about the economy in February. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan overall index of consumer sentiment declined to 72.5 in February from 75.0 in January.
"The personal financial situation of consumers remained dreary," survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.
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