The US trade deficit rose 13.7 per cent in August to $105.6 billion, with oil, gold and semiconductors behind much of the jump in imports.
The US trade deficit widened to $105.6 billion in August from $92.8 billion in July, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said on 6 October, above the $102.0 billion economists had expected. Imports rose 4.3 per cent to $420.8 billion, while exports rose 1.4 per cent to $315.2 billion.
Goods drove the gap. The goods deficit grew by $12.8 billion to $136.6 billion, while the services surplus held near $31.0 billion. Imports of industrial supplies rose $9.1 billion, led by crude oil, up $3.3 billion, and non-monetary gold, up $3.1 billion. Capital goods imports rose $6.2 billion, with semiconductors up $2.4 billion. Exports were lifted by industrial supplies, up $6.3 billion, including gold and crude oil, while pharmaceutical exports fell $2.4 billion.
Despite the monthly jump, the year-to-date picture is different. The deficit for the first eight months is down $138.2 billion, or 19.9 per cent, from the same period of 2025, as exports rose 11.8 per cent and imports rose 4.4 per cent. Oil, gold and semiconductors account for about $8.8 billion of the $17.2 billion rise in imports, so the headline is a weaker guide to container volumes.
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis.
