Catenaa, Tuesday, June 09, 2026- US trade deficit narrowed slightly in April as a jump in oil trading led the overall gap to end the month at $55.9 billion.
Imports saw a 2% jump that month but were outpaced by a 2.6% increase in exports. The total value of US goods and services sent overseas was $327.1 billion.
The increase was driven by a significant jump in oil exports, as US crude oil exports rose by $6.4 billion. Fuel oil exports also jumped by $1.3 billion, while other petroleum products saw an additional $1 billion increase.
The data was part of new Commerce Department data released Tuesday and came as the globe has wrestled with a global energy shock due to the ongoing war in Iran.
President Trump said Tuesday that a peace deal could open the Strait of Hormuz quickly, but a breakdown in talks could mean “you won’t have the strait open for months.”
But a side effect of this price shock appears to be increased demand for US oil.
The president even bragged on Truth Social in early April that oil tankers “are heading, right now, to the United States to load up with the best and ‘sweetest’ oil (and gas!) anywhere in the World.”
The trade data also revealed other exports on the rise, with computers sold abroad increasing by $2.5 billion and shipments of civilian aircraft increasing by $1 billion.
The more modest increase in US imports was driven by areas like semiconductors (up $1.7 billion) and telecommunications equipment.
Capitol Economics said this latest release could “bode well for second-quarter GDP growth.” The narrowing trade gap was evident in multiple sectors and “was for the right reasons,” it said. The increase in imports focused on US priorities, such as the ongoing AI build-out.
The analysis added that areas that saw weakness, like gold, were “more than offset by a combined $8.7bn jump in oil and petroleum product exports, reflecting both higher prices and higher export volumes.”
After the US Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s blanket tariffs, the trade deficit increased in February and March before this latest decline.
Importers are positioning themselves for new, permanent tariffs.
The Trump administration has made clear that new tariffs are coming for importers this summer and announced plans last week for a 10% tariff on top allies, including the European Union and Canada, and a 12.5% rate on other nations, including China, over the issue of forced labor.
The move from Trump’s trade representative could be the first of a series of new tariffs implemented under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Tuesday’s trade data also included a country-by-country breakdown and persistent multibillion-dollar trade deficits among many of the nations that Trump aims to further target this summer. That includes Mexico (a $14.8 billion gap), China ($12 billion), the European Union ($7.2 billion), and others.
