Trade deficit widens to its largest since March 2012

Washington

THE United States chalked up its largest trade deficit since March 2012 as a jump in merchandise imports in January exceeded a smaller gain in shipments overseas.

The gap in goods and services trade increased by 9.6 per cent to US$48.5 billion, matching the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey, Commerce Department figures showed on Tuesday. The deterioration in January from the previous month reflected a 2.3 per cent gain in imports, the most since March 2015, and a 0.6 per cent pick-up in exports.