U.S. trade deficit held near $105 billion in September as computer imports kept climbing

The gap between what the United States buys from the rest of the world and what it sells was $105.0 billion in September, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on November 4. That is $0.7 billion less than August's revised $105.7 billion. Exports gained $5.8 billion and imports $5.2 billion. The figures cover goods and services, are seasonally adjusted and are not corrected for price changes.

The one-month dip sits on top of a steep climb. The deficit stayed between $52.5 billion and $53.7 billion a month from January through April, so September's figure is about twice that range, by our arithmetic. A year earlier it was $59.4 billion. In the release's monthly table, August and September 2026 are the widest gaps since March 2025.

Computers lead the import gains

Capital goods imports reached $158.0 billion in September, $11.6 billion more than in August. Computers rose $7.6 billion and computer accessories $5.7 billion, while some other categories fell. Across the first nine months, computer imports were almost double their level a year earlier, by our arithmetic. The release does not say who bought the equipment or why.

What shows up in household categories

Consumer goods imports were $119.0 billion lower in the first nine months than a year before, and medicines account for $102.7 billion of that. Without pharmaceutical preparations, consumer goods come to $378.5 billion, against $394.8 billion in 2025, a 4.1% decline in dollar terms by our calculation. Imports of passenger cars and household appliances were also lower.

These are values at the border. On their own they do not show whether shelf prices rose or fell, and the release says nothing about tariffs or retail prices. For prices, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported consumer prices up 3.7% in the 12 months to September, as our earlier story explains.

Fuel moves the other way

By our arithmetic, fuel accounts for most of this year's improvement in the goods balance: a petroleum surplus of $96.3 billion in the first nine months, compared with $39.1 billion a year earlier. Outside petroleum, the goods deficit was nearly unchanged at $1,016.8 billion, against $1,024.9 billion.

The Energy Information Administration said on November 5 that refiners have been making less gasoline and more diesel and jet fuel this year, because tight global supplies of those fuels lifted their margins. It put gasoline at under 45% of refinery output on average from January through August, compared with a typical 45% to 50%. That may help explain the stronger fuel trade, though the link is our reading; neither release draws it.

How to read the year so far

For 2026 through September the deficit was $662.3 billion, 12.2% below the same months of 2025. That decline depends on an unusual start to last year, when monthly deficits ran from $117.1 billion to $133.0 billion from January through March. Adjusted for prices, the goods deficit widened 3.0% in September to $119.5 billion.

By country, the largest goods deficits the release lists for September were with Mexico ($28.7 billion), Vietnam ($25.3 billion), Taiwan ($21.9 billion) and China ($17.9 billion). The gap with Taiwan grew by $3.6 billion in a month. The next report, for October, is due December 8.