The US trade deficit rose to a record $68.5bn in January. Perhaps equally importantly trade deficit with China climbed to $17.9bn in January from $16.3bn in December:
Overall the deficit deteriorated by $3.4bn, but only $700m of this was due to the rising bill for petroleum imports. The deterioration was spread across a range of sectors, from capital goods to consumer goods and industrial supplies. The deficit was around 17 per cent higher than January last year and almost double the deficit for the month period in 2001.
Brad Setser has the details, and most of the arguments.