SILVER SPRING, Md. – The U.S. trade deficit rose 1.9% in January as the coronavirus pandemic continued to disrupt global commerce.
The gap between the goods and services the United States sold and what it bought abroad rose to $68.2 billion from $67 billion in December, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
Exports rose 1% to $191.9 billion, while imports increased 1.2% to $260.2 billion. The politically sensitive trade gap with China fell 3.2% to $27.2 billion.
The trade deficit with Mexico rose $1.6 billion to $11.9 billion in January. The coronavirus has upended trade in services such as education and travel, sections of the economy in which the United States runs persistent surpluses.