Trade deficit widened in November

The nation's trade gap widened in November on surging imports, probably hampering growth during the last three months of the year.

The deficit increased 15.8 percent, to $48.7 billion, up from the downwardly revised $42.06 billion, the Commerce Department reported on Friday. 

Imports were up 3.8 percent to $231.28 billion, with the largest increase in consumer goods, with jewelry, cellphones and pharmaceutical purchases showing the biggest gains. 

Meanwhile, exports rose by only 1 percent, to $182.55 billion from $180.81 billion in October. 

The U.S. deficit with China, one of the country's largest trading partners, fell slightly, by almost 2 percent, to $28.95 billion, down from the monthly record hit in October.  

Demand for U.S. goods fell in Europe as the region continues battling a fiscal crisis. 

Trade boosted the nation's growth in the July-September quarter to 3.1 percent, but economists have estimated that growth will slow during the final three months of the year, in part because exports, which had hit a record pace last year, would slow. 

The good news is that the trade deficit was running about 2 percent behind the 2011 levels, at $546.6 billion.