The US trade deficit widened in August, hitting the highest level since early 2025 following a surge in inbound shipments of capital goods.The gap in goods and services trade rose 13.7% from the previous month to $105.6 billion, according to Commerce Department data.
Adjusted for inflation, the monthly trade data have been subjected to wide swings since last year due to US tariffs and war-driven volatility in crude oil prices. Additionally, supply-chain challenges and a reliance on imported technology for massive investment in artificial intelligence have played a key role.
The trade deficit data will likely impact the third-quarter gross domestic product. Prior to the latest data, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's GDPNow forecast estimated that net exports will fall 2.59 percentage points from the calculation of GDP, the most since the early 2025, ahead of the steep tariffs the Trump administration announced on “Liberation Day," Bloomberg reported.
The value of imports of goods and services advanced 4.3% and exports jumped 1.4%.
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The merchandise-trade deficit, on an inflation-adjusted basis widened to $114.7 billion in August, the largest shortfall since March 2025.
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The imported capital goods value, a category that includes computers and accessories, semiconductors and telecommunications equipment, climbed $6.2 billion from the previous month. Atificial-intelligence investment has been a key driver of US economic growth.
Semiconductor imports rose by a record $2.4 billion from the previous month. Inbound shipments of civilian aircraft and telecommunications equipment also jumped.
Meanwhile, the nominal value of imports of industrial supplies, including oil and petroleum products climbed $9.1 billion, while outbound shipments supplies advanced $6.3 billion. Imports and exports of nonmonetary gold, a category that has been particularly volatile since early last year, also picked up.
Exports of services marginally changed, restrained by the lowest level of spending by travelers to the US since August 2023.
Country-wise, the US merchandise-trade deficit with Canada widened to the most since the start of 2025. Companies in US and Canada boosted shipments to avoid tariffs amid ongoing trade tensions. The US goods trade deficit with Mexico and Vietnam widened marginally to fresh records, while the shortfall with Taiwan, a key supplier of semiconductors, also rose.
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