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.

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.

The trade deficit fell by 6.5 per cent to $37.3bn (€27.31bn, £24.81bn), according to the commerce department, clashing with economists' predictions that the gap would widen.

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.

“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.”

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.

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.

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.