US trade balance worsens modestly in February

America’s trade deficit with the rest of the world increased modestly at the start of the year, pointing to a continued drag on growth from slowing economies overseas in the coming quarters.

The US foreign trade balance worsened from December’s upwardly revised -$44.7bn to -$45.7bn, according to the Department of Commerce.

Economists had forecast a reading of $44.1bn.

December’s shortfall was initially put at $43.4bn by government statisticians.

Goods exports declined by 2.2% month-on-month while imports decreased by 0.4% from the month before.

The non-petroleum deficit widened from $56.5bn to $58.6bn.

“On net, we view the January statistics as consistent with our outlook for next exports to act as a continued drag on GDP growth. Weak foreign demand and the stronger dollar are headwinds to export growth, and we expect this trend to remain in place over the next several quarters,” Barclays’s Jesse Hurwitz said in a research report sent to clients.