On the economic front today, we have the latest word on the U.S. trade deficit for August and September's import prices. First up, the Commerce Department said that our national trade deficit narrowed in August by 3.5% to $59.1 billion. Economists were expecting a decline to $58.5 billion. The monthly 2% drop in exports marked their sharpest contraction since June 2004, while auto imports arrived at their lowest level since March 2005. Crude-oil imports fell in August for the first time in the last 6 months.

Conversely, the U.S. trade deficit with China jumped to $25.3 billion, as Chinese imports tapped a record high of $31.8 billion. In the year-ago period, the U.S.-China deficit was just $22.5 billion.

Elsewhere, the Labor Department said that its index of U.S. import prices declined by 3% in September, recording its steepest drop since April 2003. The results were roughly in line with expectations for a 2.9% pullback. A sharp 9% correction in petroleum prices and a 15.6% plunge in natural-gas prices weighed heavy on the monthly results; excluding fuels, import prices dropped just 0.5% for September. Additionally, prices for foods, feeds, and beverages shed 1.7%, marking their biggest drop since February 2006.