MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Katrina and oil blamed for US trade deficit

Record oil prices following the Katrina hurricane and a drop in exports soared United States trade deficit to 66.1 billion US dollars last September, the highest so far in 2005.

According to the latest release from the US Commerce Department imports rose by 2.4% during the month to 171.3billion, while exports fell by 2.6% to 105.2 billion.

The monthly deficit increased 11,4% over August's 59.3 billion and is the highest since June 2004.

US crude prices hit a record 70.85 dollars a barrel in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the US Gulf Coast in late August and shut down much of much of the region's oil refining capacity.

The average barrel price during September was 57,32 US dollars pushing US deficit with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to 9,1 billion US dollars.

Food imports, both for humans and animals, as well as beverage and industrial supplies also reached a new record in September.

The drop in exports, the highest since September 2001, was influenced by problems along Gulf of Mexico ports because of the Katrina aftermath and the Boeing aircraft corporation strike which cut overseas sales from an average 2.4 billion to 925 million US dollars.

The strike at Boeing in September meant that the aircraft maker only managed to deliver two aircraft to overseas buyers, compared to 26 the month before," said Paul Ashworth, a senior economist at Capital Economics.

The spiraling and contentious deficit with China reached 20,1 billion US dollars in September.