U.S. Trade Deficit Widened to $65.7 Billion in December

The U.S. trade deficit widened in December to $65.7 billion, ending a year of record energy prices and surging Chinese imports that made for the biggest annual shortfall ever, reports Bloomberg online today.

The bigger gap in December followed a $64.7 billion deficit in November, according to Commerce Department reports. American companies imported $726 billion more goods and services than they exported in 2005, the fourth straight year of record deficits.