With exports falling and imports rising, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing that the U.S. trade deficit widened significantly in the month of August.
The report said the trade deficit widened to $48.3 billion in August from a revised $41.8 billion in July. The deficit had been expected to widen to $48.0 billion.
The wider deficit was partly due to a decrease in the value of exports, which fell by 2 percent to $185.1 billion in August from $188.8 billion in July.
The Commerce Department said exports of industrial supplies and materials tumbled by $2.2 billion due in part to a notable decrease in exports of fuel oil.
Meanwhile, the report showed that the value of imports climbed by 1.2 percent to $233.4 billion in August from $230.6 billion in July,
The increase in the value of imports partly reflected a jump in imports of cell phones and other household goods.
The Commerce Department also said the goods deficit widened to $67.9 billion in August from $61.3 billion in July, while the services surplus inched up $19.6 billion from $19.5 billion.
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Forex News
May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.