Catenaa, Thursday, March 12, 2026- The US trade deficit dropped by over 25% in January, to $54.5 billion, to start 2026, following increases in the previous two months.

The closely watched figure fell markedly from $72.9 billion in December, which was revised from $70.3 billion, in the new data released Thursday by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.

US exports rose in January by 5.5% on a month-over-month basis to $302.1 billion, according to the data, while imports dropped by 0.7% to $356.6 billion.

The change was largely driven by an increase in exports of goods, which jumped by $14.6 billion in January and reduced the overall goods deficit to $81.8 billion.

Exports of industrial supplies, including things like gold and other precious metals, drove the increase in exports even as consumer goods exports decreased.

The US runs a surplus on the services side of the ledger, with that figure increasing by $1 billion to $27.3 billion.

GDP growth, scheduled to be released on Friday, is another looming metric on the health of the US economy.

Thursday’s results also included a country-by-country breakdown. Trade deficits shrank with some countries, such as the United Kingdom, while remaining high with many Southeast Asian nations.

The new data is just the latest zigzag in trade deficits that have been notably volatile throughout President Trump’s second term as importers have responded to shifting tariff announcements with dramatic changes in their orders.

January’s decline in the trade deficit follows increases in both November and December, though the three-month average of the overall deficit remains higher by $7.8 billion.

The total trade deficit for 2025 was $901.5 billion. The total for 2024, the last year of Joe Biden’s presidency, was $903.5 billion.