The U.S. trade deficit fell more than expected in November ahead of negotiations with China that cooled the simmering tariff battle between the two sides.
The shortfall in goods and services declined to $43.09 billion for the month, below the $43.6 estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. That represented the lowest deficit in more than three years. That was down sharply from the $46.9 billion in October, which was revised lower from an initially reported $47.2 billion.
After a nearly two-year skirmish that saw both sides lob tariffs back and forth, the U.S. and China are expected to sign the first phase of a trade deal later this month.
The deficit with China decreased $2.2 billion in November to $25.6 billion owing to a $1.4 billion increase in exports and an $800 million decline in imports.
Overall for the U.S., exports rose $1.4 billion to $208.6 billion while imports fell $2.5 billion to $251.7 billion.
On a year-to-date basis, the total deficit of goods and services fell $3.9 billion, or 0.7%, from the same period in 2018 due largely to a $3.9 billion fall in imports.
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