U.S. trade deficit jumps in Nov.

The U.S. saw its highest monthly trade deficit in 14 years as the figure jumped to $68.1 billion during November.

A surge in imports overwhelmed a smaller increase in exports. November’s gap between what the country buys from abroad compared to what it sells abroad rose by eight percent from the October deficit of $63.1 billion, according to information from the Commerce Department released last Thursday.

This increase reflects a 2.9 percent increase in the imports of goods and services to $252.3 billion on a seasonally-adjusted basis. The jump swamped a 1.2 percent rise in exports which totaled $184.2 billion in November. Throughout the first 11 months of 2020, the deficit stood at $604.8 billion which is 13.9 percent higher than the same period the year before.

The rising trade deficit is expected to act as a drag on economic growth in the fourth quarter. A senior U.S. economist predicted the economy would expand at an annual rate of three percent in the October-December time frame.