U.S. Economy: Trade Gap Unexpectedly Rises on Imports (Update1)

By Courtney Schlisserman

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly widened in December as imports rose faster than exports, gains that signaled a pickup in global economic growth.

The gap grew to $40.2 billion, the biggest in a year, from $36.4 billion in November, according to Commerce Department data released today in Washington. Imports increased 4.8 percent and exports climbed 3.3 percent to the highest level since October 2008.

Faster growth in emerging countries and a drop in the dollar’s value that is making American goods more competitive may keep propelling gains in sales overseas and spur U.S. manufacturing. Efforts to rebuild inventories will probably also draw in goods from abroad, giving world trade a lift.

“We’re at a stage of the recovery where you expect both exports and imports to rise,â€