Trade Gap in U.S. Unexpectedly Falls as Imports Drop

Trade Gap in U.S. Unexpectedly Falls as Imports Drop

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- The trade deficit in the U.S. unexpectedly narrowed in January as demand for foreign oil and automobiles dropped.

The gap decreased 6.6 percent to $37.3 billion from a revised $39.9 billion in December as Americans imported the fewest barrels of crude oil in a decade, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Exports decreased 0.3 percent, the first decline since April, on fewer shipments of commercial aircraft and autos.

Imports may rebound in coming months as oil prices climb, consumer spending improves and a growing economy prompts companies to replenish depleted inventories. By the same token, the recovery in global growth and a weaker dollar is projected to lift overseas sales at manufacturers including Cisco Systems Inc., signaling factories will keep leading the U.S. expansion.

“We are starting to see a gradual recovery in global trade,” said Tim Quinlan, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina, who projected the gap would narrow. “Consumers and businesses are dipping their toes back into spending here and abroad.”

Fewer Americans filed first-time claims for jobless benefits last week, a report from the Labor Department also showed. Initial applications dropped by 6,000 to 462,000 in the week ended March 6. The number of people receiving unemployment insurance increased, while those getting extended benefits fell.

Stocks, Dollar

Stock-index futures extended earlier losses and the dollar fell after the reports. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index decreased 0.3 percent to 1,141.8 at 8:56 a.m. in New York. The dollar bought 90.53 yen, erasing earlier gains and little changed from late yesterday.

The trade gap was projected to widen to $41 billion, from an initially reported $40.2 billion in December, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 73 economists. Projections ranged from deficits of $37 billion to $44 billion.

Exports decreased by $500 million to $142.7 billion. Auto demand from abroad fell by $544 million, while shipments of commercial aircraft declined by $474 million.

Fewer Planes

Sales of American-made planes may have rebounded last month. Boeing Co. delivered 23 aircraft for overseas buyers in January, down from 38 the prior month, according to figures from the Chicago-based company. Foreign deliveries climbed to 28 in February.

American-made goods have become more attractive for overseas buyers following a decline in the dollar last year. It has fallen about 11 percent against a trade-weighted basket of currencies from the U.S.’s biggest trading partners from a five- year high reached on March 9, 2009.

“Rising exports will be an important driver for manufacturing,” said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts.

San Jose, California-based Cisco, the biggest maker of networking equipment, said it sees “underlying strength” in the economy and that customers are saying they need to spend more on technology.

“We see very positive spending trends across all of our business segments” and across the world, Ned Hooper, who is in charge of Cisco’s consumer unit and mergers and acquisitions, said on March 3 at a conference in San Francisco.

Imports Fall

Imports fell 1.7 percent to $180 billion from $183.1 billion in December. The U.S. imported 245 million barrels of crude oil in January, the fewest since February 1999. The decrease swamped an increase in oil prices.

Purchases of foreign-made automobiles and parts dropped by $1.48 billion, led by decreases in purchases of German and Japanese cars.

After eliminating the influence of prices, which are the numbers used to calculate gross domestic product, the trade deficit shrank to $41 billion from $43.8 billion. The January figure was in line with the fourth-quarter average, indicating trade so far is not influencing growth estimates.

The economy, emerging from the worst recession since the 1930s, expanded at a 5.9 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter, the most since 2003. Exports accounted for 2.32 percentage points of growth, the biggest contribution in 13 years.

Focus on Exports

President Barack Obama has said the U.S. needs to shift its growth toward expanding exports and investment rather than consumption as in the past. He plans to increase government- backed export financing for small businesses by 50 percent, to $6 billion a year.

Stronger overseas sales were one reason Parker Hannifin Corp., the world’s largest manufacturer of hydraulic equipment, raised its 2010 earnings estimate in January.

“We’re coming off the bottom,” Donald E. Washkewicz, chairman and chief executive officer of the Cleveland-based company, told analysts. “Asia is extremely strong.”

The International Monetary Fund, in a January report, projected that emerging-market and developing economies will expand 6 percent as a group this year, compared with 2.1 percent for developed nations.

Today’s report showed the trade gap with China was little changed at $18.3 billion from $18.1 billion in the prior month.

China, the world’s biggest exporter, this week reported its trade surplus shrank to the lowest level in a year in February as exports surged 46 percent from a year earlier, while imports rose 45 percent. The nation has prevented any rise in the yuan against the dollar since July 2008 to aid exporters.

source: bloomberg.com