Briefing.com: Trade Balance

Updated: 07-Jul-26 09:22 ET

May Trade Balance

Updated: 07-Jul-26 09:22 ET

Highlights

The trade deficit widened to $77.6 billion in May (Briefing.com consensus: -$78.8 billion) following an upwardly revised $54.6 billion deficit (from -$55.9 billion) in April.
The widening deficit was the result of exports being $10.5 billion less than April exports and imports being $12.5 billion more than April imports.

Key Factors

Exports of industrial supplies and materials decreased $5.5 billion.
Exports of capital goods decreased $3.5 billion.
Exports of consumer goods decreased $2.1 billion.
Imports of consumer goods increased $3.5 billion.
Imports of automotive vehicles, parts, and engines increased $2.2 billion.
Imports of capital goods increased $1.1 billion.
The real goods trade deficit increased $15.8 billion, or 18.7%, to $100.0 billion in May. That left the Q2 average 10% lower than the Q1 average, which will be a drag on Q2 GDP forecasts.

Big Picture

The key takeaway from the report is that it reflected stronger demand for goods in the U.S. versus elsewhere, evidenced by the wide gap between exports and imports in May.