US Trade Shortfall Hits New All-Time High

The American trade deficit soared to a new record in September as the U.S. Gulf Coast hurricanes helped push America´s foreign oil bill to an all-time high. The politically sensitive deficit with China also set a record.

The Commerce Department reported last week that the deficit jumped to $66.1 billion in September, 11.4 percent higher than the $59.3 billion imbalance recorded in August. It was a far bigger increase than analysts had been expecting and reflected in part a record $23.8 billion in oil purchases as the price skyrocketed, reflecting widespread shutdowns of production facilities following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

So far this year, the deficit is running at an annual rate of $706.4 billion. This puts the United States on track to far surpass the old deficit record of $617.6 billion set last year and gives critics ammunition to argue that President George W. Bush´s trade policies are not working.