MW: U.S. trade gap declines to six-year low $36.0 bln in Jan.
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 9.7% in January to $36.0 billion, the lowest monthly gap since October 2002, the Commerce Department said Friday. The trade deficit was below the consensus forecast of Wall Street economists of a deficit of $38.0 billion. This is the sixth consecutive decline in the trade balance, the first since the new data series was started in 1992. Both imports and exports declined in January. The petroleum deficit shrank to $14.7 billion in January, the lowest since September 2004. The U.S. trade deficit with China widened to $20.57 billion in compared with $20.31 billion in the same month last year.
