Credit, Economy and Business Finance News

Connect to today’s credit, economy and business finance news from Charter Capital. Get breaking news, updates and reporting on industry news providing small businesses with up-to-date financial information and resources.

U.S. Trade Imbalance Widens in February

The U.S. trade deficit widened in February as a gain in exports to the highest level in 16 months was offset by a bigger jump in imports, reflecting increased demand for consumer goods and a slowly rebounding economy. The Commerce Department reported that the deficit for February increased 7.4% to $39.7 billion. Exports edged up 0.2% to $143.2 billion while imports jumped 1.7% to $182.9 billion. In the first two months of this year, the deficit is running at an annual rate of $459.9 billion, up 21.5% from the $378.6 billion imbalance recorded in 2009. The 2009 deficit was the smallest trade gap in eight years, reflecting the severe U.S. recession that depressed demand for imports.

The politically sensitive deficit with China fell to $16.5 billion in February, the lowest level in 11 months, but was still the biggest trade imbalance the U.S. has with any country. Pressure has been building for the Obama administration to take a tougher stance with China and impose trade sanctions on Chinese products unless the Chinese government allows its currency to rise in value against the dollar which would increase the competitiveness of American products.

Return to: Credit, Economy and Business Finance News

Date Last Updated: 04/14/2010

News Feeds
-Charter Capital Factoring Blog on MerchantCircle
- Factoring Accounts Receivable Blog
- Factoring My Invoices Blog
- Small Business and Invoice Factoring News Blog
- Small Business Factoring and Financial News Blog
- Invoice Factoring and Accounts Receivable Financing Blog
- Accounts Receivables Factoring Blog
- Factoring and Finance Blog for Business