The U.S. trade deficit went to a near-record high of $80.2 billion in November, as exports slowed at the same time that imports jumped sharply.
The November deficit was 19.3% higher than the October deficit of $67.2 billion and was just below the all-time monthly record of $81.4 billion in September, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
In November imports, goods Americans bought from other countries, jumped by 4.2% to $304.4 billion in November, while exports from the U.S. went up a scant 0.2% to $224.2 billion.
The economic recovery in the United States is faster than last year, as is the willingness of Americans to spend, as the first 11 months of 2021 is 28.6% higher than during the first 11 months of 2021, according to the U.S. trade deficit.
The U.S. trade deficit was $676.7 billion for all of 2020, a 0.1% increase from the 2019 figure.
The United States and China, the world's two largest economies, have been engaged in a contentious trade battle under former President Donald Trump, who accused China of unfair trade practices that had cost millions of American jobs. Each country imposed tit-for-tat punitive tariffs on its economic rival.
The Biden administration has taken a more cautious approach to its economic dealings with China so far.
Michael Pierce, a senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said that trade will be a small drag on the overall U.S. economy in the October-December quarter because of the sharp jump in November's trade deficit.
The growth predicted by Pierce would be around 4.5% in the fourth quarter, an improvement from the modest 2.3% in the third quarter but less than expectations for much stronger growth before the omicron variant hit.
Other economists believe that growth will come in between 6% and 7% in the October-December period. The government will release its first look at fourth quarter GDP on January 27.