A surge in imports of consumer goods pushed the U.S. trade deficit to a wider-than-expected $58.3 billion in January, the second biggest on record, the government said on Friday.
U.S. exports rose 0.4 percent to a record $100.8 billion, the Commerce Department said. But a 1.9 percent jump in imports, which also hit an all-time high at $159.1 billion, swamped the export gain and led to the biggest trade gap since November’s record $59.4 billion shortfall.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that the January trade gap was 4.5 percent higher than December’s $55.7 billion deficit and was just below the all-time high monthly deficit of $59.4 billion, recorded in November.
