U.S. Trade Gap Declines

The U.S. trade deficit declined in January as demand for oil and foreign automobiles declined, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The gap between imports and exports fell to $37.3 billion, from a revised $39.9 billion in December, Commerce said.

Economists had forecast the deficit would widen to $41 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Imports fell 1.7% to $180 billion. Exports fell by 0.3%, or $500 million, to $142.7 billion.