US August Goods Trade Deficit Widens 11.5% to $132.6 Billion as Imports Surge Past Forecasts
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The US goods trade deficit for August, adjusted for seasonal factors, came in at $132.6 billion, up 11.5% from the previous month and wider than the $115 billion economists had forecast in a Reuters poll. The gap was driven by a sharp rise in imports and could weigh on gross domestic product growth in the third quarter of 2026. Goods imports rose 5.5% to $336.1 billion, with imports of industrial supplies including petroleum up 16.6%, while capital goods imports climbed 4.0% amid the buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Goods exports, by contrast, rose just 1.9% to $203.4 billion, as consumer goods fell 10.5% and autos and auto parts dropped 6.9%. Trade has now been a drag on GDP for three consecutive quarters, though wholesale inventories rose 0.7% and retail inventories 0.3% in August, which may soften the impact.