U.S. trade gap narrows in October (by Greg Robb)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 1.6% in October to $43.5 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. The deficit has narrowed for four straight months to the lowest monthly trade gap this year. Underlying the report was a sharp upward revision to the trade deficit in September to $44.2 billion from the initial estimate of $43.1 billion. The October trade deficit was close to the consensus forecast of Wall Street economists of $43.6 billion. Both imports and exports declined in October, with imports falling at a slightly faster pace. The U.S. trade deficit with China widened to $28.1 billion in October in compared with $25.7 billion in the same month last year. October imports from China were the highest on record. The data show that trade with Japan has recovered from last March's earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Imports from Japan in October were the highest since April 2008 while exports to Japan were the highest since March 1997.