A surge in imports of consumer goods pushed the US trade deficit to a wider-than-expected $58.3 billion in January, the second-biggest on record, the government said today.
US exports rose 0.4 per cent to a record $100.8 billion, the Commerce Department said. But a 1.9 per cent 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 US dollar initially dropped but rebounded, and bond prices slipped on the data.
Excluding petroleum, the US trade gap widened by 7.5 per cent to a record $46 billion. The report signalled a continued strong appetite by US consumers.
"Most of the surprise was on the import side, in particular imports of consumer goods - there is very strong domestic demand and stores are reloading," said Stephen Stanley, an economist at RBS Greenwich Capital Markets.
Still, the report could lead economists to scale back forecasts of first-quarter economic growth, since so much of the consumer demand was being satisfied by foreign goods.
Imports of consumer goods jumped $2 billion to a record $34.6 billion; imports of autos and capital goods were also up sharply, with each posting a gain of slightly more than $500 million.
The US trade shortfalls with Canada and the newly industrialised countries of Asia both widened by $1.3 billion, as exports fell off and imports climbed.
The gap with China - the country that enjoys the largest trade surplus with the United States - grew $1 billion, as exports dropped nearly 20 per cent and imports edged up 1.9 per cent.