US trade deficit hits 10-year high on record imports

[WASHINGTON] The US trade deficit hit a 10-year high in October as Americans used a stronger dollar to snap up record imports, the government reported Thursday.

Amid US President Donald Trump's high-stakes trade war with Beijing, the total trade gap leapt 6.5 per cent to US$55.5 billion, driven by all-time high imports, according to the Commerce Department.

The gap in goods trade with China likewise continued to expand, rising two percent to US$38 billion, seasonally adjusted, as key exports like soybeans fell.

AFP