US Trade Deficit Largest in Over a Year

2026-07-07 12:39 By Joana Ferreira 1 min. read

The US trade deficit widened sharply to $77.6 billion in May 2026 from a revised $54.6 billion in April, broadly in line with market expectations of a $78.5 billion shortfall.

The gap was the largest since March 2025, as imports climbed 3.3% to $395.3 billion, their highest level in more than a year.

The increase was driven primarily by higher purchases of consumer goods, particularly pharmaceutical preparations and cell phones, as well as crude oil and passenger cars.

Meanwhile, exports fell 3.2% to $317.7 billion, weighed down by lower shipments of nonmonetary gold and other precious metals, computers and computer accessories, and consumer goods, particularly pharmaceutical preparations.

May's trade data suggests net exports will weigh more heavily on second-quarter GDP than in the first.

Meanwhile, ongoing trade policy uncertainty persists as the Trump administration pursues alternative tariff measures and shifts to annual trade reviews with Canada and Mexico.



News Stream
US Trade Deficit Largest in Over a Year
The US trade deficit widened sharply to $77.6 billion in May 2026 from a revised $54.6 billion in April, broadly in line with market expectations of a $78.5 billion shortfall. The gap was the largest since March 2025, as imports climbed 3.3% to $395.3 billion, their highest level in more than a year. The increase was driven primarily by higher purchases of consumer goods, particularly pharmaceutical preparations and cell phones, as well as crude oil and passenger cars. Meanwhile, exports fell 3.2% to $317.7 billion, weighed down by lower shipments of nonmonetary gold and other precious metals, computers and computer accessories, and consumer goods, particularly pharmaceutical preparations. May's trade data suggests net exports will weigh more heavily on second-quarter GDP than in the first. Meanwhile, ongoing trade policy uncertainty persists as the Trump administration pursues alternative tariff measures and shifts to annual trade reviews with Canada and Mexico.
2026-07-07
US Trade Gap Narrows as Exports Hit New Record
The US trade deficit narrowed to $55.9 billion in April 2026 from a revised $56.6 billion in March, beating market expectations of $56.1 billion. Exports rose 2.6% ($8.3 billion) to a record $327.1 billion, driven by higher sales of capital goods (up $4.0 billion, including computers and civilian aircraft), industrial supplies (up $2.5 billion, led by crude oil and petroleum products amid rising energy prices due to Middle East tensions), and consumer goods (up $1.7 billion). Service exports fell $0.4 billion, weighed down by declines in travel, transport, and maintenance services. Imports increased 2.0% ($7.6 billion) to $383.0 billion, the highest in one year, solely due to purchases of capital goods (up $7.0 billion), mostly computers, semiconductors, and telecommunications equipment. Imports of services increased $1.3 billion, driven by transport, travel, and insurance services.
2026-06-09
US Trade Deficit Widens in March
The United States trade deficit widened to $60.3 billion in March of 2026 from the revised $57.8 billion gap in the previous month, loosely aligned with market expectations of $60.9 billion to mark the widest deficit so far this year. Imports rose by $8.7 billion, or 2.3% from the previous month to $381 billion in the period. Foreign purchases were higher for autos and parts (+$3.6 billion), consumer goods (+$2.4 billion), capital goods (+$2.1 billion), and industrial supplies (+$2.1 billion). In the meantime, exports jumped by $6.2 billion, or 2.0%, to $320.9 billion, aided by the boost in turnover from higher energy costs of oil, product, and natural gas since the start of the war in March. Foreign sales rose for crude oil (+$2.8 billion), fuel oil (+$1.6 billion), and other petroleum products (+$1.7 billion). Meanwhile, exports of foods rose $1.1 billion amid an increase in soybean exports (+$0.9 billion).
2026-05-05