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- Germany: PPI (Nov), Unfilled Orders (Oct), Ifo Business Climate Survey (Dec)
- France: Imported Raw Materials Prices (Nov)
- UK: PPI, CPI, RPI (Nov), CBI Industrial Trends Survey (Dec)
- Euro area: Construction Output (Oct)
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Economy in Brief
U.S. Energy Product Prices Ease
Gasoline prices fell to an average $2.37 per gallon (-3.3% y/y)...
German IFO Gauge Is Weaker Than Expected in December
The widely watched German IFO gauge weakened noticeably in December...
U.S. Home Builder Index Weakens Considerably
The Composite Housing Market Index from the NAHB-Wells Fargo declined to 56 during December...
Empire State Manufacturing Sector Improvement Moderates
The Empire State Manufacturing Index of General Business Conditions declined to 10.9 in December...
EMU Trade Shows Some Trade Flow Rebound
Trade flows are rebounding on differing dynamics in the euro area...
by Tom Moeller December 18, 2012
The U.S. current account deficit lessened last quarter to $107.5B from $118.1B in Q2. The easing left the deficit to GDP ratio at 2.7%, its least in roughly three years. Total exports gained 0.2% (1.7% y/y) although goods exports slipped 0.2% (+2.9% y/y). Total imports fell 1.3% (+1.2y/y) paced by a 2.2% (+0.8% y/y) drop in merchandise imports. Services exports rose 1.0% (2.5% y/y) as travel exports gained 0.9% (7.9% y/y). Imports of services advanced a lesser 0.4% (0.3% y/y). Travel imports grew 0.7% (4.2% y/y).
From the capital account, $34.2B was withdrawn by foreigners on direct investment in the U.S. versus $101.4B in payments to the U.S. on direct investment abroad.
Balance of Payments data are in Haver's USINT database, with summaries available in USECON. The expectations figure is in the AS1REPNA database.
| US Balance of Payments SA | Q3'12 | Q2'12 | Q1'12 | Year Ago | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Account Balance ($ Bil.) | -107.5 | -118.1 | -133.6 | -108.2 | -465.9 | -442.0 | -382.0 |
| Deficit % of GDP | 2.7% | 3.0% | 3.5% | 3.2% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 2.7% |
| Balance on Goods ($Bil.) | -173.9 | -185.7 | -194.3 | -180.6 | -738.4 | -645.1 | -505.8 |
| Exports | -0.2% | 1.4% | 1.7% | 2.9% | 16.2% | 20.5% | -18.2% |
| Imports | -2.2% | -0.5% | 2.0% | 0.8% | 15.6% | 22.8% | -26.3% |
| Balance on Services ($Bil.) | 49.4 | 48.3 | 45.9 | 45.6 | 178.5 | 150.4 | 126.6 |
| Exports | 1.0% | 1.3% | 3.0% | 2.5% | 9.5% | 8.7% | -4.9% |
| Imports | 0.4% | -0.3% | 1.4% | 0.3% | 6.0% | 5.4% | -5.2% |
| Unilateral Transfers ($Bil.) | -33.8 | -32.7 | -32.7 | -31.8 | -133.1 | -131.1 | -122.5 |
