Oil costs, Chinese imports widen gap in U.S. trade
The Globe and Mail: Oil costs, Chinese imports widen gap in U.S. trade
By DOUG PALMER
Friday, October 14, 2005 Page B8
Reuters News Agency
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government says its trade deficit rose in August to the third-highest level on record as imported oil costs and imports of Chinese textiles and other goods soared.
Surging energy prices stoked the biggest monthly rise in import prices in nearly 15 years, a separate report indicated.
The U.S. Commerce Department said the August trade gap grew 1.8 per cent month over month to $59-billion (U.S.), just below economists' forecasts of $59.5-billion. Record imports of $167.2-billion beat record exports of $108.2-billion.
Much of the climb in the trade gap was the result of oil price gains, partly offset by a surge in civilian aircraft exports.
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The trade report indicated crude oil import prices reached a record $52.65 a barrel, lifting the total paid for crude imports to a record $17.2-billion in August.
A separate U.S. Labour Department report indicated surging oil and natural gas prices pushed import prices up 2.3 per cent month over month in September, the largest jump in nearly 15 years, and more than twice expectations. Petroleum import prices climbed 7.3 per cent while non-petroleum import costs rose by a record 1.2 per cent, the U.S. Labour Department reported. Stripping out petroleum and natural gas, import prices rose a much smaller 0.4 per cent.
Kurt Karl, head of economic research and consulting at Swiss Reinsurance Co. in New York, said the high oil prices mask an improvement in the underlying trade gap. Imports from China hit a record $22.4-billion, boosted by a 3.1-per-cent jump in clothing and textile shipments. Imports of those products in the first eight months of this year climbed more than 53 per cent from the year-earlier period, reflecting the end of global textile quotas on Jan. 1.
A fourth round of talks aimed at stemming the flow of Chinese textiles into the United States collapsed yesterday. U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow is in China to meet with finance chiefs from the Group of 20 industrialized economies. Mr. Snow, who is also expected to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao, has been vocal about the need for a looser Chinese currency.
By DOUG PALMER
Friday, October 14, 2005 Page B8
Reuters News Agency
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government says its trade deficit rose in August to the third-highest level on record as imported oil costs and imports of Chinese textiles and other goods soared.
Surging energy prices stoked the biggest monthly rise in import prices in nearly 15 years, a separate report indicated.
The U.S. Commerce Department said the August trade gap grew 1.8 per cent month over month to $59-billion (U.S.), just below economists' forecasts of $59.5-billion. Record imports of $167.2-billion beat record exports of $108.2-billion.
Much of the climb in the trade gap was the result of oil price gains, partly offset by a surge in civilian aircraft exports.
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The trade report indicated crude oil import prices reached a record $52.65 a barrel, lifting the total paid for crude imports to a record $17.2-billion in August.
A separate U.S. Labour Department report indicated surging oil and natural gas prices pushed import prices up 2.3 per cent month over month in September, the largest jump in nearly 15 years, and more than twice expectations. Petroleum import prices climbed 7.3 per cent while non-petroleum import costs rose by a record 1.2 per cent, the U.S. Labour Department reported. Stripping out petroleum and natural gas, import prices rose a much smaller 0.4 per cent.
Kurt Karl, head of economic research and consulting at Swiss Reinsurance Co. in New York, said the high oil prices mask an improvement in the underlying trade gap. Imports from China hit a record $22.4-billion, boosted by a 3.1-per-cent jump in clothing and textile shipments. Imports of those products in the first eight months of this year climbed more than 53 per cent from the year-earlier period, reflecting the end of global textile quotas on Jan. 1.
A fourth round of talks aimed at stemming the flow of Chinese textiles into the United States collapsed yesterday. U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow is in China to meet with finance chiefs from the Group of 20 industrialized economies. Mr. Snow, who is also expected to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao, has been vocal about the need for a looser Chinese currency.
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