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U.S. goods trade deficit narrows on drop in imports
The June shortfall declined 4.2% from the prior month to $101.5 billion.
Containers at the Port of Oakland. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)
Key Takeaways:
- The U.S. goods trade deficit narrowed 4.2% to $101.5 billion in June as imports fell 2.6% and exports declined 1.8%.
- The smaller deficit reflected weaker imports and exports, while AI-related imports, petroleum demand and tariff concerns contributed to recent trade fluctuations.
- More complete June trade data including services is due Aug. 4 and will help inform assessments of second-quarter GDP growth.
The U.S. merchandise-trade deficit narrowed in June as a decline in imports outpaced a slide in exports.
The shortfall in goods trade declined 4.2% from the prior month to $101.5 billion, Commerce Department data showed July 28. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a $100 billion deficit. The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation.
U.S. exports of goods fell 1.8%, led by a slide in industrial supplies, while imports dropped by 2.6%.
The trade deficit has fluctuated in recent months as the Iran war helped boost global demand for U.S. petroleum products and American firms ramped up imports to supply the artificial intelligence buildout.
Companies have also been building stockpiles of goods and materials as supply chain delays have become more widespread and the threat of new tariffs has loomed, fueling concerns about additional price hikes.
The advance international trade deficit in goods decreased to $101.5 billion in June 2026 from $105.9 billion in May 2026 as imports decreased more than exports.
Learn more: https://t.co/qZYlxNEIvs#CensusEconData #AdvanceInternationalTradeGoods pic.twitter.com/4sKnC1Wncn — U.S. Census Bureau (@uscensusbureau) July 28, 2026
The resumption of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran this month has raised fresh concerns about shipping disruptions. President Donald Trump also announced new tariffs earlier this month to replace duties struck down by the US Supreme Court in February.
The July 28 figures showed outbound shipments of industrial supplies, where crude oil and petroleum products are counted, fell 4.4% in June. The category also includes nonmonetary gold, which has helped fuel swings over the past year. Exports of the volatile consumer goods category and automotive vehicles rebounded.
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Meanwhile imports of capital goods — a category that includes computers and accessories, semiconductors and telecommunications equipment — fell for the first time since September, though they remained 37.4% higher than a year earlier. Imports of consumer goods also fell.
Figures on retail inventories, released alongside the goods trade data, showed they were little changed in June. Wholesale inventories rose 0.3%.
The trade and inventories data will help inform the government’s first estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product, which will be published July 30. Ahead of the July 28 release, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow model saw net exports reducing GDP growth by 1.35 percentage points.
Separate data published earlier this month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed U.S. import prices rose 0.3% in June, while export prices fell 0.6%.
More complete June trade figures that include the balance on the services account are due Aug. 4.
