Mubasher: The US trade gap in goods shrank by 3.6% in September, as ongoing trade tensions kept a lid on goods flow.

The US goods trade deficit dropped to $70.4 billion last September, compared with a $73.1 billion seen in August, the US Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said.

US imports fell by $4.9 billion to $206.3 billion, while exports to the rest of the world came in at $135.9 billion last month, declining by $2.2 billion.

On a side note, wholesale inventories declined by 0.3% to $677.4 billion, while retail stockpiles rose by 0.3% to $667.1 billion.

Stripping motor vehicles and components, retail inventories gained 0.3% after slipping 0.2% in the previous month.

By 2:49 pm GMT, the US dollar index inched down by 0.08% to 97.7480, while the EUR/USD pair went up by 0.11% to $1.1092.