Oct. Trade Deficit Improves

WASHINGTON The U.S. trade deficit improved dramatically inOctober, narrowing to $7.03 billion as American exports climbed to anall-time high, the government said today.

In another economic report, the Labor Department said that newclaims for unemployment benefits rose for the first time in fourweeks in early December. The level of applications for joblessbenefits climbed by 22,000 to 347,000 for the week ending Dec. 5,primarily reflecting the fact that claims offices had one extra dayto process applications as compared to the previous holiday-shortenedweek.

The Commerce Department said the October trade deficit, thelowest since June, was 18 percent below …