The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in October to the lowest in 16 months as the trade war with China continues to radically alter the economic relationship between Beijing and Washington.
The Trade Balance (Oct) printed at -$47.2B vs -$48.7B consensus estimate.
Merchandise imports from China declined 4.8% from the prior month to $35.3 billion.
Beijing is still pushing the Trump administration to lower tariffs significantly in any 'phase one' of a trade deal, therefore removing any leverage the U.S. has to push China to halt theft of intellectual property and forced technology transfers.
Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng declared, "The Chinese side believes that if the two sides reach a phase one deal, tariffs should be lowered accordingly," reported Reuters.
Continuing Jobless Claims (Nov 29) printed at 1.693M vs 1.65M estimate.
Initial Jobless Claims printed at 203k vs 215k estimate.
Factory Orders (MoM) (Oct) came in at 0.3% vs 0.3% estimate.
Subscribe to our evening newsletter to stay informed during these challenging times!!
