US Agricultural Export Value Eased in January as Imports Rose

The value of U.S. agricultural exports slipped to $12.351 billion against imports that rose to $10.11 billion for a monthly trade surplus of $2.241 billion, according to USDA's U.S. Agriculture Trade Update.In December, the value of U.S. agricultural exports was at $12.923 billion against imports of $9.735 billion for a surplus of $3.187 billion.The January trade surplus is the smallest of Fiscal 2017 and the lowest since September 2016 when it was $2.233 billion.Monthly imports topped $10 billion for the first time since March 2016 and only the sixth time that has happened based on USDA data back to Fiscal 1976. But the $10.11 billion figure for January is still under the record level of $10.616 billion in March 2015.So far in Fiscal 2016, the value of U.S. agricultural exports totals $53.779 billion against imports of $38.949 billion for a cumulative trade surplus of $14.829 billion. The trade surplus for Fiscal 2017 is already within $1.7 billion of the total agricultural trade surplus for Fiscal 2016 of $16.617 billion.USDA forecasts the Fiscal 2017 agricultural trade surplus at $21.5 billion as exports are expected at $136 billion against a record $114.5 billion in imports.