The U.S. goods and services trade deficit narrowed to $55.9 billion in April, down 1.2% from a revised $56.6 billion in March, as exports rose to a record, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau said Tuesday.
The goods and services gap fell to $55.9 billion as total exports climbed to an all-time high of $327.1 billion
Bloomberg / Getty Images
The U.S. goods and services trade deficit narrowed to $55.9 billion in April, down 1.2% from a revised $56.6 billion in March, as exports rose to a record, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau said Tuesday.
Total exports reached an all-time high of $327.1 billion, a 2.6% increase over the prior month, with goods exports accounting for the bulk of the advance at $221.3 billion. A $6.4 billion jump in crude oil exports led the gains in industrial supplies, while capital goods shipments added $4.0 billion, powered by a $2.5 billion increase in computers and $1.0 billion more in civilian aircraft.
On the import side, total purchases from abroad reached $383.0 billion, up 2.0%. Within goods, a $7.0 billion surge in capital goods — driven by computers, semiconductors, and telecommunications equipment tied to buildout of AI infrastructure, according to The Wall Street Journal — pushed goods imports to $304.9 billion, though purchases of industrial supplies and materials eased by $0.9 billion.
At $83.7 billion, the goods trade gap was $2.4 billion smaller than in March, and once inflation adjustments are applied, it stood at $84.3 billion — a $1.5 billion, or 1.8%, improvement. The services account provided a partial offset in the other direction: a $1.7 billion drop in the services surplus to $27.8 billion, as softer travel, transport, and maintenance and repair activity pulled services exports down $0.4 billion to $105.8 billion, while services imports climbed $1.3 billion to $78.0 billion.
Bilaterally, China's goods trade gap with the U.S. shrank to $12.0 billion — a $2.6 billion decline — as cross-border flows fell on both sides of the ledger. Taiwan and Vietnam each posted the steepest imbalances at $19.3 billion apiece, with Mexico not far behind at $14.8 billion. The U.S. ran goods trade surpluses with the Netherlands, South and Central America, and Hong Kong, among others.
Those results followed a March in which the trade deficit had initially been reported at $60.3 billion, boosted by a wave of capital goods imports and higher automotive shipments. Tuesday's release brought that March figure down to $56.6 billion as part of annual revisions to the goods and services data.
On a year-to-date basis, the goods and services deficit for the first four months of 2026 was $213.5 billion lower, or 49.1% below, the same period in 2025, as exports rose 11.3% and imports fell 5.5%.
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