The U.S. Census Bureau this week released advance indicators showing that the international trade deficit and wholesale inventories increased in January.

The international trade deficit was $83.7 billion in January, up $0.5 billion from $83.2 billion in December. Exports of goods for January were $135.2 billion, $1.9 billion more than December exports. Imports of goods for January were $218.9 billion, $2.5 billion more than December imports.

Wholesale inventories for January, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $661.6 billion, up 1.3% from December 2020, and were up 0.5% from January 2020. The November 2020 to December 2020 percentage change was revised from up 0.3% to up 0.5%.