Investing.com - The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in December to hit the highest level in two years, as exports dropped 0.8% and imports rose 2.2%, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said that the U.S. trade deficit widened to a seasonally adjusted $46.56 billion in December from a deficit of $39.75 billion in November, whose figure was revised from a previously reported deficit of $39.0 billion.
Analysts had expected the U.S. trade deficit to narrow to $38.0 billion in December.
U.S. exports fell 0.8% to $194.88 billion in December, while imports increased 2.2% to $241.44 billion.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1414 from around 1.1402 ahead of the release of the data, while GBP/USD was at 1.5290 from 1.5269 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 117.46 from 117.52 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.10, compared to 94.18 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 0.55% at the open, the S&P 500 futures rose 0.65%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures tacked on 0.45%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,262.40 a troy ounce, compared to $1,263.90 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $49.50 a barrel from $44.56 earlier.