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US trade deficit widens in January as imports outpace exports

02 Mar '24

1 min read

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In January, the US trade deficit expanded to $90.2 billion, a $2.3 billion increase from December, due to a significant rise in imports.
Retail inventories rose by 0.5 per cent to $804.8 billion, indicating steady growth.
In contrast, wholesale inventories slightly decreased by 0.1 per cent to $896.8 billion, showing a year-over-year decline of 2.3 per cent.

US’ international trade deficit has expanded to $90.2 billion in January, marking an increase of $2.3 billion from December's figure of $87.9 billion, according to the latest data by the US Census Bureau. The data indicates a slight growth in exports of goods, totalling $170.4 billion, a $0.4 billion rise from December. However, this was overshadowed by a more significant increase in imports of goods, which surged by $2.7 billion to reach $260.6 billion in January.

In a parallel update on domestic inventories, the advance retail inventories for January stood at an estimated end-of-month level of $804.8 billion. This represents a 0.5 per cent increase from December 2023 and a 5.1 per cent rise from January of the previous year. The figures suggest a steady growth in retail inventories, with the November to December 2023 change maintaining the preliminary estimate of a 0.6 per cent increase.

Conversely, wholesale inventories saw a slight decline in January, with figures adjusted for seasonal variations showing a 0.1 per cent decrease to an end-of-month level of $896.8 billion from December 2023. Year-over-year comparison also reveals a 2.3 per cent drop from January 2023, as per the bureau.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)

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