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Posted by Daniel Workman Dec 12, 2006 |
Germany, the world's largest exporter, saw its exports surge 23% to US$23 billion - the highest since the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990.
According to MarketWatch, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 8.4% in October to $58.9 billion, the largest decrease in the deficit since December 2001. October's reported deficit was well below the $63.1-billion imbalance forecast by Wall Street economists.
American exports to its trade buddies rose to a new record in October, while imports fell by the largest amount in almost five years.
Despite the improvement, the U.S. trade deficit with China widened to a record $24.4 billion in October compared with $20.4 billion in the same month last year and $23.0 billion this past September.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned China in early December that the world was frustrated waiting for China to appreciate the Chinese yen and to remove trade constraints, measures that would make other countries' exports more competitive.
China has responded that its exchange rate is a matter of national sovereignty, but has agreed to respond positively to America at high-level discussions in China this week.
China's trade surplus in November 2006 was $22.9 billion, slightly lower than October's record $23.8 billion and more than twice the surplus for November 2005.