WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- A sharp drop in imports narrowed the U.S. trade deficit in November to $34.3 billion, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
Imports fell by $3.4 billion October to November to $232.5 billion
Exports also contributed to the smaller trade gap, rising by $1.7 billion to $193.1 billion.
October's trade deficit was $39.3 billion.
The declining gap was mostly attributed to trades of goods. The goods deficit dropped by $4.9 billion to $53.9 billion, while the surplus in services rose by $200 million from October to $19.7 billion.
From November 2012, the monthly trade deficit was down a substantial $12.2 billion with exports up by $9.6 billion or 5.2 percent over 12 months and imports down by $2.5 billion or 1.1 percent.
The trade gap with China narrowed from $28.9 billion in October to $26.9 billion in November. With the European Union, the gap narrowed from $14.3 billion to $10.1 billion month to month.
With the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, known as OPEC, the trade gap narrowed from $5.6 billion in November to $4.8 billion in October, the bureau said.
