US Trade Gap Largest in 16 Months

2026-09-03 12:37 By Joana Taborda 1 min. read

The US trade deficit widened to $88.6 billion in July 2026, marking the largest gap since March 2025, compared with a $71.1 billion shortfall in June and market expectations of a $90 billion deficit.

Exports declined 2.1% to $310.7 billion, led by lower sales of crude oil (-$4.5 billion) and nonmonetary gold (-$3.9 billion).

On the other hand, shipments increased for capital goods ($1.9 billion) and pharmaceutical preparations ($1 billion).

Meanwhile, imports rose 2.8% to $399.3 billion, boosted by purchases of computers ($6.9 billion), computer accessories ($6.6 billion) and semiconductors ($1.2 billion) while a fall was seen for crude oil ($-1.8 billion) and charges for the use of intellectual property ($-0.5 billion).

The largest gaps were recorded with Mexico ($-27.5 billion), Vietnam ($-23.3 billion) and Taiwan ($-18 billion).

The deficit with China was $15.2 billion and the balance with Switzerland shifted from a surplus of $2.9 billion to a deficit of $0.6 billion.



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US Trade Gap Largest in 16 Months
The US trade deficit widened to $88.6 billion in July 2026, marking the largest gap since March 2025, compared with a $71.1 billion shortfall in June and market expectations of a $90 billion deficit. Exports declined 2.1% to $310.7 billion, led by lower sales of crude oil (-$4.5 billion) and nonmonetary gold (-$3.9 billion). On the other hand, shipments increased for capital goods ($1.9 billion) and pharmaceutical preparations ($1 billion). Meanwhile, imports rose 2.8% to $399.3 billion, boosted by purchases of computers ($6.9 billion), computer accessories ($6.6 billion) and semiconductors ($1.2 billion) while a fall was seen for crude oil ($-1.8 billion) and charges for the use of intellectual property ($-0.5 billion). The largest gaps were recorded with Mexico ($-27.5 billion), Vietnam ($-23.3 billion) and Taiwan ($-18 billion). The deficit with China was $15.2 billion and the balance with Switzerland shifted from a surplus of $2.9 billion to a deficit of $0.6 billion.
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