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U.S. trade deficit jumps to 5-year high in January
Jeffry Bartash: @jbartash
Covering US economy and efforts by Washington to ... dabble with it. Send comments to jeffry.bartash@dowjones.com
U.S. trade deficit jumps to 5-year high in January
Published: Mar 7, 2017 10:04 a.m. ET
By Jeffry Bartash
Reporter
Trump White House faces tough task to slash trade gap
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. trade deficit shot up in January to a five-year high, underscoring the daunting problem faced by a Trump administration determined to reduce the gap.
The trade deficit rose 9.6% to $48.5 billion in January from a revised $44.3 billion in December, the government said Tuesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a gap of $48.8 billion. Figures are seasonally adjusted.
{snip interactive graph}
The wider deficit was spurred by a 2.3% increase in imports of consumer goods such as cell phones from China and other countries. The higher cost of oil also boosted the value of U.S. imports. ... Imports totaled $240.6 billion in January.
More imports from other countries isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Americans are better off financially than people in many other countries because of steady growth that’s reduced joblessness to an eight-year low. They can afford to buy more goods and services.
Published: Mar 7, 2017 10:04 a.m. ET
By Jeffry Bartash
Reporter
Trump White House faces tough task to slash trade gap
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. trade deficit shot up in January to a five-year high, underscoring the daunting problem faced by a Trump administration determined to reduce the gap.
The trade deficit rose 9.6% to $48.5 billion in January from a revised $44.3 billion in December, the government said Tuesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a gap of $48.8 billion. Figures are seasonally adjusted.
{snip interactive graph}
The wider deficit was spurred by a 2.3% increase in imports of consumer goods such as cell phones from China and other countries. The higher cost of oil also boosted the value of U.S. imports. ... Imports totaled $240.6 billion in January.
More imports from other countries isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Americans are better off financially than people in many other countries because of steady growth that’s reduced joblessness to an eight-year low. They can afford to buy more goods and services.
