The U.S. trade deficit contracted significantly in October, declining 11.9 percent to $73.8 billion, according to data released Thursday by the Commerce Department.
This marked a sharper-than-expected narrowing, as economists had anticipated a deficit of $75.4 billion.
The September trade gap was revised downward to $83.7 billion from an initial estimate of $84.4 billion.
October saw a notable pullback in imports, which fell 4 percent to $339.6 billion following a record-setting month in September. Declines in consumer goods and capital goods contributed to the decrease, signaling a possible cooling in demand for certain categories of foreign-made products. It’s also likely that companies had stocked up on goods ahead of the port strike, which was much shorter-lived than expected.
Exports also retreated, slipping 1.6 percent to $265.7 billion after setting their own record the previous month. Notable declines were observed in shipments of automobiles and industrial supplies, which weighed on the overall total.
