Trade deficit rises as imports hit record high

WASHINGTON —  The United States’ trade deficit grew larger in January as imports -- including crude-oil prices -- zoomed to all-time highs.

The latest snapshot of trade activity, reported by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, showed that the country’s trade gap increased to $58.2 billion. That was up from a trade shortfall of $57.9 billion in December and was the highest since November.

Imports of goods and services climbed to a record high of $206.4 billion in January. The United States’ voracious appetite for imported crude oil, with prices skyrocketing to the loftiest on record, figured into the increasing demand for overall imports.

The trade gap widened even as exports of U.S.-made goods and services totaled a record high of $148.2 billion in January. The declining value of the U.S. dollar, relative to other currencies such as the euro, is helping to make U.S.-made goods cheaper and thus more attractive to foreign buyers.

Economists were expecting the trade deficit in January to be a bit larger -- growing to about $59 billion.

Still, rising energy prices are aggravating the nation’s trade situation. The average price of imported crude oil soared to a record $84.09 a barrel in January. That pushed the country’s imported crude oil bill to an all-time high of $27.1 billion in January.

The country’s trade deficit with oil-producing nations, including Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Nigeria, grew to $15.5 billion in January from $12.6 billion in December.

Meanwhile, the United States’ politically sensitive trade deficit with China widened to $20.3 billion in January, up from $18.8 billion in the previous month.

Trade tensions with China over the last few years have intensified on a number of fronts. Beijing’s currency policies have strained relationships. So have the recalls of Chinese-made goods -- including toys with lead paint, defective tires and tainted toothpaste -- which have raised questions about the safety of Chinese goods flowing into the United States.

Critics contend that China is engaging in unfair trade practices such as keeping the value of its currency artificially low against the dollar. That makes Chinese-made goods less expensive to buyers in the U.S. and makes U.S.-made goods more expensive in China. The administration has been prodding China to do more to let its currency rise in value.

The United States’ trade deficit with Japan decreased slightly to $6.592 billion in January from $6.593 billion in December. The trade deficit with Canada, however, increased to $5.9 billion, up from $4.7 billion.