U.S. Goods Trade Deficit Narrows in June from May’s 14-Month High
Summary
- Deficit: $101.46 bil. in June, down $4.43 bil. (-4.2%) from May’s $105.89 bil.
- Exports -1.8%, second straight m/m decline to a five-month low, driven by a 4.4% drop in exports of industrial supplies & materials.
- Imports -2.6%, first m/m decrease since Jan., w/ all end-use import categories down, led by drops of 6.3% in other goods and 3.8% in nonauto consumer goods.
The U.S. international trade deficit in goods narrowed to a larger-than-expected $101.46 billion in June after widening to $105.89 billion in May (the largest since March 2025), according to the advance estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau. The June reading marked the second narrowing in the goods trade deficit in three months, still exceeding an $84.17 billion shortfall in June 2025. A deficit of $99.0 billion for June had been expected by the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The deficit reached a low of $61.44 billion in October 2025 (the smallest since February 2020) and a record high of $158.73 billion in March 2025. On a quarterly basis, the deficit averaged $96.53 billion in Q2'26, the largest since Q1'25, versus $81.96 billion in Q1'26.
Total goods exports declined 1.8% m/m (+14.8% y/y) to $204.70 billion in June, the lowest level since January, following a 5.3% drop to $208.50 billion in May and a 4.1% gain to a record-high $220.11 billion in April. However, exports were up 25.9% from a June 2023 low. The m/m decline in exports in June reflected drops of 4.4% (+31.3% y/y) in industrial supplies & materials, 3.1% (+11.5% y/y) in foods, feeds & beverages, 2.8% (+12.3% y/y) in other goods, and 1.1% (+10.9% y/y) in capital goods excluding autos. To the upside, exports of automotive vehicles & parts (+5.1%; -0.5% y/y) and nonfood consumer goods excluding autos (+3.2%; -7.2% y/y) rose m/m in June.
Total goods imports fell 2.6% m/m (+16.6% y/y) to $306.17 billion in June, the first monthly fall since January, after a 4.0% rise to $314.40 billion in May (the highest level since the March 2025 record high of $340.11 billion). Nevertheless, imports were up 22.1% from a March 2023 low. The m/m fall in imports in June was broad-based across all end-use categories, led by a 6.3% drop (+16.3% y/y) in other goods, followed by declines of 3.8% (-0.3% y/y) in nonfood consumer goods excluding autos, 2.5% (+1.9% y/y) in automotive vehicles & parts, 2.5% (-1.3% y/y) in foods, feeds & beverages, 2.0% (+37.4% y/y) in capital goods excluding autos, and 1.9% (+15.0% y/y) in industrial supplies & materials.
The advance international trade data can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectation figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey, which is in AS1REPNA.
Winnie Tapasanun
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Winnie Tapasanun has been working for Haver Analytics since 2013. She has 20+ years of working in the financial services industry. As Vice President and Economic Analyst at Globicus International, Inc., a New York-based company specializing in macroeconomics and financial markets, Winnie oversaw the company’s business operations, managed financial and economic data, and wrote daily reports on macroeconomics and financial markets. Prior to working at Globicus, she was Investment Promotion Officer at the New York Office of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) where she wrote monthly reports on the U.S. economic outlook, wrote reports on the outlook of key U.S. industries, and assisted investors on doing business and investment in Thailand. Prior to joining the BOI, she was Adjunct Professor teaching International Political Economy/International Relations at the City College of New York. Prior to her teaching experience at the CCNY, Winnie successfully completed internships at the United Nations. Winnie holds an MA Degree from Long Island University, New York. She also did graduate studies at Columbia University in the City of New York and doctoral requirements at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her areas of specialization are international political economy, macroeconomics, financial markets, political economy, international relations, and business development/business strategy. Her regional specialization includes, but not limited to, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Winnie is bilingual in English and Thai with competency in French. She loves to travel (~30 countries) to better understand each country’s unique economy, fascinating culture and people as well as the global economy as a whole.
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