US Trade Deficit Grows to $68.3 Billion, Widest in Three Months

  • Resilient domestic demand helped fuel increase in imports
  • Inflation-adjusted exports of consumer goods, cars hit records

Shipping containers at the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, California.

Photographer: Tim Rue/Bloomberg
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The US trade deficit grew to the widest in three months at the start of the year, reflecting a pickup in imports of merchandise.

The trade gap in goods and services increased 1.6% to $68.3 billion in January from a month earlier, Commerce Department data showed Wednesday. The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a $68.7 billion gap.