By IANS/EFE,
Washington: The US ran a trade deficit of $497.8 billion in 2010, an increase of 32.8 percent over the previous year, the Commerce Department said Friday.
Imports surged by 19.7 percent, to $2.33 trillion, as the US economy began to recover from the longest and deepest slowdown since the Depression.
US exports totaled $1.83 trillion last year, representing an advance of 16.6 percent from 2009.
The US trade deficit with China rose 20.3 percent last year to $273.06 billion, accounting for 43 percent of the overall gap between exports and imports.
At $40.58 billion, the December 2010 trade deficit was in line with analysts’ expectations and would have been smaller if not for increases in international oil prices.
Excluding petroleum imports, the December 2010 deficit would have been $15.3 billion, the smallest since last March.