The US trade deficit continued to rise in August. Reuters reports:
America's deficit with the rest of the world hit a fresh high of $69.9 billion in August, partly because of lofty oil prices that since have eased...
[E]xports grew in August by 2.3 percent to $122.4 billion but import growth was a slightly stronger 2.4 percent to $192.3 billion.
To a large extent, the trade deficit reflects continued growth in the US economy.
The Federal Reserve's periodic Beige Book survey of the economy, issued in mid-afternoon, said moderate overall expansion continued in September across the 12 regions where Fed banks are located but a "couple" said growth was slowing.
Another survey from manufacturing executives similarly pointed to some slackening in the pace of expansion during September and forecast further slowing in the fourth quarter.
The Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI index of future business activity fell to 64 in September from 71 in June, its lowest level since June 2003. Anything over 50 indicates growth...
Separately, the Labor Department said new applications for unemployment benefits inched up 4,000 to 308,000 last week -- not enough to be troubling in the view of analysts who said they did not see any widespread trimming of payrolls.
Higher oil prices were partly behind the higher trade deficit, but as Brad Setser points out, non-oil imports also played a part.
The $70b ($69.9b) August trade deficit means the US is squarely on track for a $900b or so current account deficit this year...
[N]on-oil import growth is picking up. Non-oil goods imports were $133 in August, above their recent $128-29b range. The y/y growth rate in non-oil imports was 9.85% in June, 10.8% in July and 13.4% in August.
That's the cue for us to turn to China's latest trade data, provided by AFP/CNA.
China's trade surplus dropped sharply in September from a month before, although net exports were safely on track for a record year in 2006, official data shows.
The world's fourth-largest economy reported a surplus last month of 15.3 billion dollars, down from 18.8 billion dollars in August, official figures showed...
Exports in September were up 30.6 percent year-on-year at 91.6 billion dollars, the General Administration of Customs said in a statement posted on its website.
Imports during the month reached 76.3 billion dollars, a rise of 22 percent from a year earlier.
Despite the month-on-month drop, the September surplus was still the second-highest on record, after the all-time high in August...
China said Wednesday it aimed to reduce its ballooning trade surplus to zero by the end of the decade via a drastic decline in the growth of its exports.
Through to 2010, China will target 10 percent annual growth in foreign trade, down from 24 percent in the first half of the decade, the commerce ministry said in a statement on its website.
But China is far from the only country enjoying a surplus at the expense of the US. Bloomberg reports Japan's current account surplus for August.
Japan's current account surplus widened more than expected in August, as automakers in the world's second-largest economy shipped more cars overseas.
The surplus rose 22 percent to 1.48 trillion yen ($12.4 billion) from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said today in Tokyo. The median forecast of 33 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a surplus of 1.42 trillion yen...
The current account tracks the flow of goods, services and investment income from overseas. Exports climbed 17.3 percent in August from a year ago and imports rose 16.4 percent, today's report showed.
Meanwhile, with bank lending and money supply increasing, the Cabinet Office was able to give a relatively upbeat assessment of the Japanese economy.
The economy is "recovering," the Cabinet Office said in its October report released in Tokyo today, maintaining its overall evaluation for an eighth month. The world's second-largest economy is now in its 57th month of growth, equaling the so-called Izanagi boom of 1965-1970.
"We'll continue efforts to keep robust economic expansion," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters in Tokyo today. "Many people may not be feeling this strong recovery."
Indeed, Japan's consumer confidence worsened in September. From Kyodo/Yahoo! News:
Japanese consumer confidence fell in September from the previous month for the second straight month of deterioration, the Cabinet Office said Thursday...
The index of confidence among households with two or more people came to an unadjusted 46.3 for September, down 1.3 points from August, the office said in a monthly report...
On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the index of consumer confidence came to 45.6 in September, down 0.6 point from June.
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