US trade deficit widens in January as imports outpace exports

In a parallel update on domestic inventories, the advance retail inventories for January stood at an estimated end-of-month level of $804.8 billion. This represents a 0.5 per cent increase from December 2023 and a 5.1 per cent rise from January of the previous year. The figures suggest a steady growth in retail inventories, with the November to December 2023 change maintaining the preliminary estimate of a 0.6 per cent increase.

Conversely, wholesale inventories saw a slight decline in January, with figures adjusted for seasonal variations showing a 0.1 per cent decrease to an end-of-month level of $896.8 billion from December 2023. Year-over-year comparison also reveals a 2.3 per cent drop from January 2023, as per the bureau.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DP)