Trade Deficit Widened a Bit During January --- Gap Grew to $12.44 Billion Despite 6% Import Drop; Exports Were Down 10%
WASHINGTON -- The nation's merchandise trade deficit widened slightly to $12.44 billion in January from $12.2 billion in December even though imports fell 6% to their lowest level in nine months.</br></br>As they often do in January, exports also fell, dropping 10% from December. Exports remain far ahead of last year's levels, but some economists warned that the January figures suggest the export boom may be slowing.</br></br>"Slow (economic) growth abroad could make it difficult to maintain the kind of export growth we've seen in the past few months," said Jerry Jasinowski, economist for the National Association of Manufacturers.</br></br>The trade report, which was better than many economists expected, sparked rallies in the dollar and in the stock and bond markets.</br></br>Continued export growth is important if the U.S. is to shrink its trade deficit and avoid an economic slowdown. Exports of manufactured goods, which account for two thirds of all U.S. exports of goods, dropped 7.6% as exports of machinery, chemicals and aircraft fell.