The U.S. trade deficit widened in October, coming in slightly above consensus expectations. Deficit widened to USD 55 billion. The services trade surplus remained widely the same. The consistent widening of the trade deficit since June implies that a fiscal-stimulus led boost to domestic demand is at play, noted Barclays in a research report.
The widening of the deficit was mainly seen in the goods trade area. Within this, it was positive imports growth, which rose 0.1 percent, along with a drop of 0.3 percent in exports that led to a wider deficit.
On the exports front, food & beverage, automotives and capital goods were the main laggards. Meanwhile, imports of consumer goods and automotives rose, implying solid consumer demand. Nevertheless, imports of capital goods dropped sharply, and industrial supplies were also lower, implying some deceleration in investment-related demand.
At 18:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was slightly bearish at -57.8014. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex
