(1888PressRelease)
March 15, 2009 - The consensus view of Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters is that the deficit dropped to $38 billion in the first month of the new year. The Commerce Department is scheduled to release the January trade report at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Friday.
The trade deficit fell by 4 percent to $39.9 billion in December, the lowest level in nearly six years. That decline helped to push the deficit for all of 2008 down to $677.1 billion, a 3 percent drop from the 2007 figure. It marked the second straight year that the country's trade deficit had fallen after setting records for five consecutive years.
The 2008 imbalance was the smallest annual total since 2004 and many economists believe the deficit for this year will be half the size of last year's gap.
That forecast is based on the view that the painful recession the country is undergoing will sharply trim demand for foreign products even as it decreases demand for U.S.-made goods. Analysts also believe that oil prices, which averaged about $100 per barrel in 2008, will average less than half of that in 2009 as a severe global downturn reduces worldwide oil demand.
Economists believe that the fall in imports will outpace an expected drop in U.S. exports, which are also projected to decline this year.
Douglas Morgan, CEO at Hoffman Meyer Associates, said “The global slowdown had translated into falling imports and exports in countries around the globe.” He continued by saying "We are seeing a contraction in world trade around the world,"
Hoffman Meyer Associates is Seattle's leading merger and acquisition, business brokerage firm. As a mergers & acquisition firm, our principals have completed scores of transactions of privately and publicly held companies during the past 25 years.
Over the years, our firm has developed strong relationships with companies and individuals that are ancillary to the mergers & acquisition process including banks, mezzanine lenders, asset lenders, transaction attorneys, certified public accountants, and financial planners. We are also affiliate members of leading merger & acquisition, business valuation, accounting and brokerage associations.
###
