US trade deficit eases to $105.0 billion, but its three-month average widened

The US goods and services trade deficit was $105.0 billion in September, down $0.7 billion from a revised $105.7 billion in August, the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis reported. Exports and imports both rose, and the three-month average deficit widened.

The monthly gap shrank only because exports rose slightly faster

Exports were $321.5 billion in September, $5.8 billion more than in August, while imports were $426.6 billion, $5.2 billion more, according to the release. The figures are seasonally adjusted but not adjusted for price changes.

The goods deficit fell $0.7 billion to $135.9 billion. The services surplus was $30.9 billion, a decrease of less than $0.1 billion, the agencies said.

On a price-adjusted basis the picture was less favorable. The real goods deficit, measured in 2017 dollars on a Census basis, increased $3.5 billion, or 3.0 percent, to $119.5 billion, compared with a 2.2 percent increase in the nominal deficit, the release said.

Computers drove imports; gold pulled exports down

On a Census basis, imports of goods rose $8.0 billion, led by capital goods, up $11.6 billion. Within that group computers rose $7.6 billion and computer accessories $5.7 billion, the agencies said.

Exports of goods rose $5.1 billion to $211.0 billion. Capital goods exports rose $3.8 billion, while exports of nonmonetary gold fell $3.4 billion, according to the release.

Taiwan and the European Union widened, Canada narrowed

The September deficit with Taiwan increased $3.6 billion to $21.9 billion. The deficit with the European Union increased $3.2 billion to $14.2 billion, with imports up $2.6 billion to $53.2 billion. The deficit with Canada decreased $2.7 billion to $4.4 billion, the release said. These country figures are on a Census basis.

A narrower month inside a wider quarter

The average monthly deficit for the three months ending in September increased $11.3 billion to $101.2 billion. Compared with the three months ending in September 2025, the average deficit was $36.5 billion larger, according to the release.

For the year to date the picture is the reverse: the deficit decreased $92.4 billion, or 12.2 percent, from the same period of 2025, the agencies said. The October data are due on Tuesday, December 8, 2026.

A smaller deficit this month tells us little about the trend

We read September as a month in which the headline improved while the details did not. The $0.7 billion narrowing is small against a $105 billion balance, the price-adjusted goods deficit widened, and the three-month average is moving up. The year-to-date decline is real but sits beside a rising recent run rate, so the two readings point in different directions.

A gap this size can be moved by a single category such as computers or gold. We would put more weight on the next two or three releases than on this one, and on whether capital-goods imports stay elevated. We expect the pattern to remain mixed if those imports keep rising, but the opportunity is that they point to business investment. The risk is that a widening gap feeds into slower reported growth. Our view would change if the three-month average turned down.

The view in this final section is FinanceInTime's editorial opinion, for information only. It is not investment, tax, legal or other advice, and it does not take your circumstances into account. Forecasts are uncertain and past results do not guarantee future ones.