美国1月份的贸易逆差意外收窄
Plunging domestic demand for oil and foreign cars unexpectedly narrowed the US trade gap in January, official figures showed yesterday, lifting hopes for stronger economic growth in the first quarter.昨日发布的美国官方数据显示，由于对石油和外国汽车的国内需求大幅下降，1月份美国贸易逆差意外收窄，这加大了美国第一季度经济增长走强的希望。
Separately yesterday, the labour department said that new claims for jobless benefits slipped lower last week, offering a ray of hope that stubbornly high unemployment levels are slowly easing.
另外，美国劳工部昨日表示，上周的首次申请失业救济人数有所减少。这让人们看到了一线希望——美国居高不下的失业率正在缓慢下降。
The trade deficit fell by 6.5 per cent to $37.3bn , according to the commerce department, clashing with economists' predictions that the gap would widen.
美国商务部表示，1月份贸易逆差下降6.5%，至373亿美元，这出乎经济学家们的预料——他们原本预测逆差将会扩大。
In January, both imports and exports declined after months of higher trends. Exports fell by $500m to $142.6bn from the prior month, while imports dropped by $3.1bn to $180bn. The fall in exports was the first since last April.
在经历了数月的攀升后，美国进出口额1月份双双下降。出口总额较去年12月下降5亿美元，至1426亿美元，是去年4月以来的首次环比下降；进口总额则下降31亿美元，至1800亿美元。
“While we believe the recent rates of increase are unsustainable, especially for imports, trends do not usually change as suddenly as this,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics. “We are happy to see the deficit drop in January but it is not representative of the true picture.”
High Frequency Economics首席美国经济学家伊恩?谢泼德表示：“尽管我们相信近几个月进出口总额的增速是不可持续的，特别是进口，但趋势通常不会发生如此突然的改变。我们很高兴看到1月份的贸易逆差走低，但这并不代表着真实情况。”
The narrowing trade deficit was fuelled in January by a sharp decline in oil imports, which fell to their lowest level since 1999 and accounted for two-thirds of the shift. US appetite for foreign cars, computers and televisions also declined during the month.
1月份贸易逆差的收窄主要由石油进口大幅下降所致，当月石油进口量降至1999年以来的最低水平，逆差降幅的三分之二即得益于此。1月份，美国对外国汽车、电脑和电视的需求也有所下降。
Global trade stalled during the worst of the recession but has rebounded steadily during the past year. Economists expect that momentum to return as the economic recovery gains momentum.
在本次经济衰退最为严重的时期，全球贸易曾陷入停滞，但在过去一年出现稳步回升。经济学家们预计，随着经济复苏加快脚步，全球贸易将重现增长势头。
Meanwhile, the US trade gap with China, its most politically sensitive trade partner, edged higher, to $18.3bn. However, deficits with the European Union, Japan and Mexico eased.
与此同时，美国对中国这个政治上最敏感的贸易伙伴的贸易逆差，小幅攀升至183亿美元；对欧盟、日本和墨西哥的贸易逆差则均有所收窄。
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