With imports rising at a faster rate than exports, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing that the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in the month of February.
The Commerce Department said the trade deficit widened to $47.1 billion in February from a revised $45.9 billion in January.
Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $46.2 billion from the $45.7 billion originally reported for the previous month.
The wider than expected deficit was partly due to an increase in the value of imports, which climbed 1.3 percent to $225.1 billion in February from $222.2 billion in January.
Imports of consumer goods showed a substantial increase during the month along with imports of motor vehicles, parts, and engines.
The report also said the value of exports increased by 1 percent to $178.1 billion in February from$176.3 billion in the previous month.
The growth in exports reflected notable increases in exports of gem diamonds, pharmaceutical preparations and other goods.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.