The U.S. trade deficit swelled in December, closing out a year in which the imbalance was essentially unchanged despite efforts by the Trump administration to close the wide gap. Closing out a tumultuous year in the global marketplace, the goods and services shortfall in December totaled $70.3 billion, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. That marked an increase of $17.3 billion from November and was well above the Dow Jones consensus estimate for $55.5 billion. For the full year, the U.S. ran a $901.5 billion deficit, actually down slightly from 2024 but only by 0.2%, or $2.1 billion. The total was also a bit ... (full story)