FX.co ★ US Goods Trade Balance Narrows More than Expected

In June 2025, the US trade deficit in goods decreased significantly by $10.4 billion from the previous month, reaching $86 billion, according to preliminary estimates. This figure is notably lower than market predictions, which anticipated a modest decline to $98.4 billion. This contraction brings the deficit close to the revised 20-month low observed in April. It appears that importers reduced their overseas purchases after having initially increased their inventories due to concerns over possible aggressive tariffs imposed by the US government, which previously led to a record-high deficit of $162 billion in March. Imports experienced a 4.2% decline compared to the prior month, totaling $264 billion—the lowest level since March 2024. This decline was largely driven by sharp reductions in consumer goods (down 12.4% to $58 billion) and industrial supplies (down 5.5% to $48 billion), although imports of capital goods remained relatively unchanged, increasing slightly by 0.6% to $91 billion. Conversely, exports saw a slight decrease of 0.6%, amounting to $178.2 billion. Notably, the growth in sales of capital goods (up 4.7% to $60 billion) and foods, feeds, and beverages (up 4% to $14 billion) helped mitigate the impact of a reduction in industrial supplies exports, which stood at $60 billion.