Forexpros – The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in September, as exports rose to a record high and imports stagnated, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to a seasonally adjusted USD43.1 billion in September, compared to a deficit of USD44.9 billion in August, whose figure was revised from a deficit of USD45.6 billion.
Analysts had expected the U.S. trade deficit to widen to USD46.2 billion.
U.S. exports in September rose 1.4% to an all-time high of USD180.4 billion, while U.S. imports rose 0.3% to USD223.5 billion.
The U.S. trade deficit with China edged down to USD28.1 billion in September from the record deficit of USD29.0 billion recorded in August.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar extended losses against the euro, with EUR/USD climbing 0.75% to trade at 1.3644.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures added to sharp gains following the data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a rise of 1.15%, S&P 500 futures rallied 1.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 1.25%.
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