i haven't read the fine print, only the headlines. trade gap narrower than concensus ($41.11b vs. $43.3). this in an environment where we are paying a huge war premium for all the oil we import. taking the war tax off the oil, the gap would have to be much narrower yet (no time to run the numbers). i see this as good news. yes, we are consuming less junk (oh, tremblings about the consumer's health) but too, the lower dollar is beginning to do what it is supposed to do: narrow the trade gap. at some point, american assets will look like a bargain to foreign asset holders. that ought to portend transactions, which are always good for traders. no?
according to Dow Jones: <b> 8:58 (Dow Jones) The $3.7 billion narrowing in the January trade deficit occurred despite a $1.078 billion increase in oil imports that was entirely due to prices. The average price of crude oil imports in January was $27.73 versus $24.15 in December. In constant dollar terms, petroleum imports actually declined by $103 million to $6.223 billion in January. (JJM) </b>