The US trade deficit narrowed by 8.5pc in January from a record level in December as imports declined by 2pc. The trade deficit for goods and services fell to USD41.1bn in January from a record USD44.9bn in December, the Commerce Department said. The December figure was revised up to USD44.9bn from an earlier estimate of USD44.2bn. The decline in the deficit in January was larger than the fall to USD42bn that had been expected.
The trade deficit narrowed as exports rose and imports fell, according to the Commerce Department. Imports fell 2.0pc to USD123bn, while exports rose 1.6pc to USD81bn. The US' petroleum deficit widened 2.4pc to USD9.16bn, the department said, reflecting higher crude oil prices amid growing tension between the US and Iraq. The US imported 268 million barrels of oil in January, compared with 289 in December. The average price per barrel of crude petroleum rose sharply to USD27.73 compared with USD24.15 in December. This is the highest level since November 2000 and the largest month-on-month increase in the price per barrel of petroleum since October 1990, after Iraq had invaded Kuwait. //www.fxcentre.com