The U.S. trade deficit improved slightly in November but was still the third highest on record as imports of foreign cars hit an all-time high and America’s foreign oil bill remained near record levels. The politically sensitive deficit with China narrowed modestly as shipments of Chinese toys, clothing and other consumer products fell.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the deficit declined by 5.7 percent in November to $64.2 billion after hitting a record of $68.1 billion in October.
In other economic news, the Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose by 17,000 last week to total 309,000. That was lower than the increase of 24,000 that Wall Street had been expecting.
