"The export trend is clearly slowing, and that means the export engine is faltering"
- Carl Riccadonna, a senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
The U.S. trade gap widened in October, however, less than initially was expected, as exports slumped at the fastest pace in four years and outweighed a drop in imports. The Commerce Department said that the trade deficit climbed 4.9% to $42.2 billion, from a revised $40.3 billion in September. Exports from the world's biggest economy tumbled 3.6%, the most since January 2009, while imports fell by 2.1%, a sign of the slowdown in global growth. At the same time, the trade gap with China increased to a record high, putting more pressure on the Obama administration. The increase of the overall trade gap is a signal that the country is earning less on overseas sales of American-produced goods, while spending more on foreign products.
"The export trend is clearly slowing, and that means the export engine is faltering," said Carl Riccadonna, a senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York, who projected the gap would grow to $42 billion. "The outlook seems more of the same for growth."
"After running double-digits growth for over a decade, we start to see China GDP moderating," Weiwei Chen, chief financial officer of Yum! Brands' (YUM) China division, said at a Dec. 6 conference.
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