![The Surging Oil Exports That Are Shrinking America's Trade Deficit With The Rest Of The World [CHARTS]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticbiassets.in%2Fthumb%2Fmsid-21370102%2Cwidth-700%2Cresizemode-4%2Cimgsize-25681%2Fthe-surging-oil-exports-that-are-shrinking-americas-trade-deficit-with-the-rest-of-the-world-charts.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
America's trade balance shrunk 20.7 percent in December.
The gap was much narrower than expected.
Why? The changing
Crude exports, which set an all-time record at $6.5 million.
Here's the chart for December exports, going back to 1994, the most recent year for which data is available:
 Census |
Meanwhile, imports continue to plummet.
Overall 2012 barrels imported declined to 3.1 billion, the lowest level since 1997:
The overall 2012 petroleum product deficit shrunk 15 percent to -$128,442,0000. The value of petroleum exports grew +7.8 percent, while import values declined -7.7 percent.