AUSTRALIA'S trade balance is wallowing in the red with a deficit of $2.9 billion in   November, new official figures have revealed.
The deficit shrank slightly from $3.2 billion a month earlier, and beat economists' expectations of a $3 billion shortfall in   November.
Exports rose 1 per cent in the month, while imports were down 1 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
It leaves the nation well on track for a record trade deficit as slumping commodity prices continue to take a toll.The 11-month deficit for   January to   November last year is already $28.6 billion, surpassing the previous annual record of $26.4 billion, which was set in 2007.