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The US Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Census Bureau reported that the goods and services trade deficit narrowed to 105 billion dollars in September from a revised 105.7 billion dollars in August. Exports rose 1.9 percent to 321.5 billion dollars while imports advanced 1.2 percent to a record 426.6 billion dollars according to the agencies’ joint release. The narrowing reflected a 0.7 billion dollar decrease in the goods deficit to 135.9 billion dollars with the services surplus declining by less than 0.1 billion dollars to 30.9 billion dollars.
Capital goods exports climbed to an all-time high of 73.3 billion dollars driven by computers civilian aircraft and related items the data showed. Food and beverage exports increased to 16 billion dollars the highest level since June 2022 on higher soybean shipments according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Imports of capital goods also reached a record as domestic spending on technology continued the Commerce Department release indicated.
Year-to-date through September the goods and services deficit has fallen 92.4 billion dollars or 12.2 percent from the same period in 2025 the agencies’ figures show. Exports for the first nine months increased 297.3 billion dollars or 11.6 percent while imports rose 204.9 billion dollars or 6.2 percent. The Census Bureau data places the cumulative performance as an improvement over the prior year.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast a deficit of 108 billion dollars making the September outcome stronger than anticipated the news service reported. A Haver Analytics assessment noted that the real inflation-adjusted goods deficit widened 3.5 billion dollars to 119.5 billion dollars in the month. The report highlighted record goods trade shortfalls with Mexico Vietnam Taiwan and South Korea despite existing tariff policies.
The US remained a net exporter of oil with crude exports rising 1.2 billion dollars in September according to the joint release. Industrial supplies and materials exports declined on lower nonmonetary gold shipments the data detailed. These shifts contributed to the overall export increase of 5.8 billion dollars for the month.
The release incorporates revisions to prior months including an upward adjustment to the August deficit the Bureau of Economic Analysis stated. Additional detail on bilateral trade and category breakdowns will support further economic analysis in coming weeks. The next report on October trade is scheduled for December 8.
