U.S. March Trade Deficit Hits $60.3 Billion, Up 4.4% From Previous Month

by Hwang Yoonju

Published 05 May.2026 23:29(KST)

Deficit Widens but Falls Short of Forecast

In March, the U.S. trade deficit increased compared to the previous month.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce on May 5 (local time), the U.S. goods and services trade deficit for March was recorded at $60.3 billion. This figure is up 4.4% from the previous month’s $57.8 billion. However, it fell short of the expert forecast of $60.9 billion compiled by Dow Jones.

Exports totaled $320.9 billion, up $6.2 billion (2.0%) from the previous month. In particular, exports of crude oil and other petroleum products increased by $2.8 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively.

Imports amounted to $381.2 billion, an increase of $8.7 billion (2.3%) from the previous month. Imports of automobiles and engines (up $3.6 billion), and capital goods including computer accessories (up $2.1 billion), led the overall increase in imports.

The goods deficit stood at $88.7 billion, up $4.1 billion from the previous month, while the services sector posted a surplus of $28.4 billion, expanding the surplus by $1.6 billion.

By country, the largest deficits were with Taiwan ($20.6 billion) and Vietnam ($19.2 billion), followed by Mexico, China, the European Union (EU), Germany, and South Korea. The deficit with South Korea was $4.8 billion.