U.S. trade gap with China hits record high

? The trade deficit jumped to the second-highest level in history as surging demand for foreign oil swamped a small gain in U.S. exports, the government reported Thursday. America’s trade gap with China hit an all-time high as retailers stocked up on cell phones, toys and televisions in preparation for Christmas sales.

The worse-than-expected trade performance in August — a deficit of $54 billion — represented a 6.9 percent widening from July’s trade gap of $50.5 billion. The record monthly deficit was set in June at $55 billion.

Exports, helped by a rise in shipments of commercial aircraft and record foreign sales of American cars and auto parts, rose by a slight 0.1 percent to $96 billion in August.

However, this improvement was overwhelmed by a 2.5 percent surge in imports to a record $150.1 billion as America’s foreign oil bill climbed to the highest level in history. The average price for crude oil jumped to a 23-year high of $36.37 per barrel.

Analysts said the bad news on trade will only get worse in coming months given that oil prices have continued to soar, with crude oil hitting a new record of $54.76 per barrel Thursday.

“The skyrocketing oil prices are sucking the wind out of the economy,” said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors. “And the worst is yet to come.”

In a second economic report, the Labor Department said the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose by 15,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted level of 352,000. The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out weekly changes, rose by 4,000 to a seven-month high of 352,000.

Loaded cargo ships carrying imported goods are anchored off the coast of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif. They were waiting Monday for the opportunity to unload at the docks. The U.S. trade deficit, propelled by a record foreign oil bill, surged to 4 billion in August, the second-highest level in history.

The jobless claims report reflects a labor market that is continuing to disappoint economists’ expectations. The country added a lower-than-expected 96,000 jobs in September as the unemployment rate held steady at 5.4 percent.