Briefing.com: Trade Balance

Updated: 05-May-26 09:14 ET

March Trade Balance

Updated: 05-May-26 09:14 ET

Highlights

The March trade deficit widened to $60.3 billion, as expected, from a downwardly revised $57.8 billion (from -$57.3 billion) in February.
The widening was the result of exports increasing $6.2 billion more than February exports and imports increasing $8.7 billion more than February imports.

Key Factors

Exports of industrial supplies increased $5.0 billion, with crude oil exports up $2.8 billion.
Exports of foods, feeds, and beverages increased $1.1 billion.
Imports of automotive vehicles, parts, and engines increased $3.6 billion, with passenger cars up $2.8 billion.
Imports of consumer goods increased $2.4 billion. Imports of capital goods increased $2.1 billion.
The real goods deficit increased $5.7 billion, or 6.7%, to $90.8 billion. That left the first quarter average 5.4% below the fourth quarter average.

Big Picture

The key takeaway from the report is that it has yet to fully capture the pickup in crude oil exports from the U.S. that has been driven by the Strait of Hormuz blockade. That pickup should be considerably higher in the next report and a boon for Q2 GDP growth forecasts.