The US trade deficit widened much more than expected in January as surging imports of oil, capital goods and cars overpowered record exports in a signal of strengthening demand. A second report on Thursday showed a rise in new claims for jobless benefits, but not enough to suggest the labour market's recovery was running off the rails.
The trade deficit widened to $46.3 billion from $40.3 billion, the Commerce Department said. The 15.1 percent jump was much bigger than analysts expected and reflected the largest month-to-month gain in imports since March 1993. While the strong import growth is a sign of improved domestic demand, it suggested US production in the first quarter could be a bit softer than economists had expected.
"To the extent that this surge reflects the strength of domestic demand, particularly restocking, it isn't necessarily a disaster," said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist with Capital Economics in Toronto. Imports totalled $214.1 billion in January, as oil prices rose to their highest level since October 2008, and imports of capital goods and foods, feeds and beverages set records.
US auto imports were the highest since February 2008 in a sign of strengthening demand for big-ticket items. US exports grew 2.7 percent to a record $167.7 billion, finally exceeding the previous record set in July 2008 just before the global financial crisis caused trade to plummet.
President Barack Obama has set a goal of doubling US exports to more than $3 trillion by the end of 2014 to put the United States on a path to more sustainable economic growth less dependent on national consumption. The closely watched trade gap with China also widened in January to $23.3 billion, fuelling cries for Washington to get tough with Beijing.
The jobless claims data, coming on the heels of news last week that employers added 192,000 jobs in February - the most in nine months - is unlikely to change perceptions of an acceleration in the pace of job creation and the broader economic recovery. The four-week moving average of unemployment claims - a better measure of underlying trends - rose 3,000 to 392,250 last week. Claims held beneath the 400,000 threshold for a third straight week, and it was the second consecutive week for the four-week average. That level is generally regarded as signalling steady jobs growth.