US Trade Deficit Narrows Slightly in September as Imports Hit a Record $426.6 Billion

The US trade deficit narrowed slightly in September even as imports rose to a record high. The goods and services deficit fell 0.7 percent to $105.0 billion, from a revised $105.7 billion in August, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis said in a joint release on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.

The result came in below what economists had expected. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a deficit of $108.0 billion, and a Bloomberg survey median put the forecast at $107.9 billion. The actual gap was about $3 billion smaller than the Reuters forecast, because exports rose faster than imports during the month.

Imports reach a record

Imports increased 1.2 percent in September to a record high of $426.6 billion. Goods imports rose 1.3 percent to an all-time high of $346.9 billion.

A smaller deficit in a month when imports set a record can only happen when exports grow faster, and that is what the September numbers show.

Exports rise faster

Exports advanced 1.9 percent to $321.5 billion in September, $5.8 billion more than in August. Goods exports increased 2.5 percent to $211.0 billion. The export gain was larger in percentage terms than the import gain, and that difference is what pulled the overall deficit down by 0.7 percent.

The split inside the total also moved only a little. The September decrease in the overall deficit reflected a decrease in the goods deficit of $0.7 billion, to $135.9 billion. The services surplus decreased by less than $0.1 billion, to $30.9 billion. In other words, almost all of the small monthly improvement came from goods, while the services position was nearly flat.

Trade and growth

Reuters reported that the trade deficit has remained large despite President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs. The news agency also reported that the government estimated last week that imports subtracted 2.64 percentage points from third quarter GDP growth, the most since the first quarter of 2025.

The same government advance estimate put economic growth at a 3.4 percent annualized rate in the July to September quarter. Reuters reported that trade has not contributed to GDP growth for four straight quarters. That record helps explain why a single month of slight narrowing does not change the wider picture: the deficit is smaller than in August, but it remains above $100 billion, and imports are still setting records.

What comes next

The September report is the full goods and services release for that month. It follows the advance goods-only figures published earlier and replaces them with the complete picture, including services. The next release in this series is scheduled for Tuesday, December 8, 2026, the two agencies said. That release will show whether exports kept growing faster than imports in October, or whether September was a one-month pause in a run of large deficits.

For now, the September numbers give a clear and narrow story. The United States imported a record amount, exported more than it did in August, and closed the month with a deficit of $105.0 billion, slightly smaller than the month before and smaller than economists had forecast.