Trade Gap Widens in November

The U.S. trade deficit widened in November, increasing 9.7% from October, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The gap between imports and exports grew to $36.4 billion, from a revised $33.2 billion in October, Commerce said.

Economists had forecast the deficit would widen to $34.6 billion from an initially reported $32.9 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Imports rose 2.6% to $174.6 billion. Exports rose to 0.9% $138.2 billion, reflecting increased demand for U.S. food, automobiles and semiconductors.