The U.S. trade deficit shrank 28.7 percent in November to US$40.4 billion, the lowest monthly level in five years, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday.

The 28.7 percent drop marked the biggest contraction in 12 years and was bigger than expected.

Analyst had been expecting the trade gap to narrow to around US$51.3 billion from a downward revision of US$56.7 billion in October.

U.S. exports of goods and services fell by 5.8 percent in November to US$142.8 billion, while imports plunged by a record 12 percent to US$183.2 billion.

Imports of both capital and consumers goods in November were the lowest since mid-2006, while auto and auto parts imports fell to levels not seen since August 2003.

Oil imports dropped by 1.7 million barrels per day in November. The average price for imported oil plunged a record 25.30 per barrel in the month as recession fears deepened.

For the first 11 months of 2008, the U.S. trade deficit was running at an annual rate of US$688.2 billion, down from the 2007 deficit of US$700.3 billion.

The 2007 imbalance marked the first annual improvement after five straight years of record deficits. The record level of US$753.3 billion was set in 2006.

Analysts expect the trade deficit to shrink further this year as a recession depresses demand for imported products.

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2009)