The numbers: The trade deficit shrank 15% in January after soaring in December, a dramatic swing that reflects how much the tense standoff between the U.S. and China has disrupted the flow of goods and weighed on the economies of both countries.

The deficit shrank to $51.1 billion in January from almost $60 billion in December, the government said Wednesday, largely because of cheaper oil, surging soybean exports and lower Chinese imports.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a $57.7 billion deficit.

The lower U.S. trade deficit, if it persists, could provide a small boost in the first quarter to gross domestic product, the official scorecard of the economy. But the drop in imports could also be taken as sign of softening demand in the U.S. that adds to worries about a slower growth.

Whatever the case, the U.S. is coming off the highest annual deficit in a decade and it’s unlikely the gap will shrink much if at all in 2019.

What happened: Imports rose for the first time in four months, but barely so. They edged up 0.9% to $207.3 billion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Soybean exports soared to $1.21 billion in January from less than $300 million in December. They were also up almost 50% compared to the same month a year earlier.

Exports of the key Midwestern crop have been subjected to large swings because of their central role in the ongoing trade U.S.-China standoff. China is a huge market for American soybeans, but until recently it blocked some sales in retaliation against U.S. tariffs.

Exports of U.S. autos and parts also rose.

Imports slipped 2.6% to $258.5 billion in January, marking the second decline in a row.

The cost of imported oil fell to the lowest level in three years, reducing America’s foreign energy bill. The U.S. also imported fewer computers and semiconductors.

The rift between the U.S. and China, meanwhile, continues to disrupt the enormous flow of trade between the two countries.

U.S. exports to China and Hong Kong, for example, tumbled in January to a nine-year low, just a month after a big surge that pushed the annual gap with the Asian giant to an all-time high.

The nation’s deficit in goods with China soared in December as American firms sought to bring in more imports ahead of a threatened increase in U.S. tariffs that was eventually postponed.

The U.S. and China have been locked in intense talks to resolve the dispute, but so far an agreement remains out of reach.

The January trade report delayed by the partial federal shutdown early in the year.

Read:Why the markets aren’t buying the Fed’s claims about the strength of the U.S. economy

Big picture: The trade dispute between the two biggest economies in the world has cast a pall over the global economy.

Even a deal President Trump finds favorable, however, would be unlikely to substantially shrink huge trade deficits, at least not in the short run.

The U.S. has a stronger economy than most of its trading partners, whetting the appetite of Americans for foreign goods, many of which are no longer produced at home. A strong dollar also makes imports cheaper for Americans and U.S. goods more expensive for foreigners.

Read:The Fed is gun-shy because of a quarter-century of low inflation

What they are saying?: “The sharp fall in the trade deficit in January was mainly due to a larger than expected drop in imports, which is hardly a positive sign for the economy,” said Michael Pearce, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.92% and S&P 500 SPX, -2.37% fell in Wednesday trades.

The 10-year Treasury yield TMUBMUSD10Y, 0.675% continued its steady descent, touching 2.37%. Mortgages, auto loans and other common forms of borrowing are tied to changes in the 10-year note, whose yield has fallen from a seven-year high of 3.23% in October.

The declining yield reflects greater worries about the U.S. economy.