The US Commerce Department reported Thursday that trade gap widened by 6.3 bln USD in January to total 44.4 bln USD due to the sharp increase in petroleum import . The increase followed 10.1 bln decline in December.
In January, exports fell sharply while imports increased 1.8% to 228.9 bln USD. Meanwhile, exports decreased 1.2% to 184.5 bln USD in January, after a strong 2.2% gain in December.
The petroleum deficit widened 27.2% in January to 10.6 bln USD after two straight monthly declines.
The trade deficit with Canada was the highest since October 2008 and exports to the euro area fell 2.2% on a year-to-year basis. Trade deficit in goods with China widened to 27.8 bln USD in January from 26.0 bln a yaer ago and 24.5 bln in December. The US trade gap with Mexico in January was the smallest since July 2009.