US Merchandise-Trade Deficit Widened to Record Ahead of Trump

The US merchandise-trade deficit widened in December to a record as the value of imports increased, highlighting a key issue that President Donald Trump aims to rectify in his second term.

The shortfall in goods expanded 18% to $122.1 billion, Commerce Department data showed Wednesday. The figure, which isn’t adjusted for inflation, exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The figures, along with the report’s inventory data, prompted a nearly full percentage point downgrade in the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow forecast for fourth-quarter gross domestic product. Net exports are seen subtracting 0.61 percentage point, while a ...