http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=ab3LUjEy2hKk&refer=homeDec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly widened to a record $68.9 billion in October, as imports of crude oil, automobiles and televisions increased, a government report showed.
The gap in goods and services trade reported by the Commerce Department today exceeded even the highest estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. In September, the shortfall was $66 billion. Imports rose 2.7 percent and exports increased 1.7 percent in October. The U.S. had record deficits with China, Canada and Mexico.
U.S. economic growth may be limited in coming months as the country relies more on overseas rather than domestic production to meet demand for electronics, clothes and other goods, economists said. The resumption of Boeing Co. aircraft shipments and an increase in business equipment exports to overseas economies that are on the mend weren't enough to improve the trade balance.
``We saw a bit of a bounce back in exports, but there's only so far that can go,'' Michael Gregory, a senior economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto, said before the report. ``Petroleum imports and a still-strong U.S. dollar will conspire to keep the gap near record levels for the next several months.''
Economists expected the deficit to narrow to $62.8 billion for the month compared with a previously reported $59 billion gap in September, according to the median of 61 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The estimates ranged from $59.5 billion to $65 billion.
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