The January 2010 International Trade in Goods and Services report is out. January's trade deficit was $37.3 billion. Both exports and imports declined, exports $0.5 billion whereas imports dropped $3.1 billion.

In January, the goods deficit decreased $2.5 billion from December to $49.4 billion, and the services surplus increased $0.1 billion to $12.1 billion. Exports of goods decreased $0.7 billion to $98.4 billion, and imports of goods decreased $3.2 billion to $147.8 billion. Exports of services increased $0.2 billion to $44.3 billion, and imports of services increased $0.1 billion to $32.2 billion.

The Deficit is a 6.6% less than last months.

Here are imports vs. exports of goods from the official start of this recession:

The below graph are services:

Did you know we have a trade deficit in advanced technology?

Advanced technology products exports were $21.3 billion in January and imports were $24.6 billion, resulting in a deficit of $3.3 billion. January exports were $2.7 billion less than the $24.0 billion in December, while January imports were $4.3 billion less than the $28.9 billion in December.

So, what made the trade deficit drop from last month?

Crude oil dropped to 245,273 thousand barrels, below the November 2009 low, and the lowest since 1999. Yet the actual price paid was $73.89 a barrel, which negates the low volume due to higher prices, so the claim that oil is the culprit cannot be correct.

Nope, it was auto imports (wish I could break this down by Toyota!):

The December to January decrease in imports of goods reflected decreases in automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($1.5 billion); capital goods ($1.1 billion); and consumer goods ($0.9 billion).