Trade Balance (Goods & Services)
The trade balance is the difference between US exports and imports of goods and services — a negative number is a deficit (imports exceed exports), reported in billions of dollars. The US has run a goods-and-services deficit since 1975, driven by strong domestic demand for imports, though it runs a partial offsetting surplus in services.
Trade balance ($)
Next release: Oct 6, 2026
Latest reading
As of July 2026, Trade Balance (Trade balance ($)) stands at -$88.6B — down from -$71.2B the prior reading, below the February 1993 record of -$3.60B. Net exports feed directly into GDP, so a widening deficit subtracts from growth and can weigh on the dollar over time. The trend matters more than the level: watch whether the gap is widening or narrowing rather than the absolute figure, since energy prices and import demand swing it month to month. The deficit ballooned to records in 2022 as consumer demand pulled in imports, then narrowed as goods demand normalized. Series history runs from 1993 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessLast updated 2026-09-04 · Open ↓Close ↑
Full history
Methodology & data
Trade Balance is sourced from Census/BEA via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (Census Bureau/BEA via FRED (BOPGSTB), monthly, seasonally adjusted, $ millions). We pull the complete history, chart it on a monthly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date, last updated 2026-09-04. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Trade Balance (Goods & Services)?
The trade balance is the difference between US exports and imports of goods and services — a negative number is a deficit (imports exceed exports), reported in billions of dollars. The US has run a goods-and-services deficit since 1975, driven by strong domestic demand for imports, though it runs a partial offsetting surplus in services.
How do you read Trade Balance?
Net exports feed directly into GDP, so a widening deficit subtracts from growth and can weigh on the dollar over time. The trend matters more than the level: watch whether the gap is widening or narrowing rather than the absolute figure, since energy prices and import demand swing it month to month. The deficit ballooned to records in 2022 as consumer demand pulled in imports, then narrowed as goods demand normalized.
Where does the Trade Balance data come from?
Census Bureau/BEA via FRED (BOPGSTB), monthly, seasonally adjusted, $ millions. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/trade-balance.csv.
How often is Trade Balance updated?
Trade Balance is a monthly series from Census/BEA, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.
Trade balance ($)
Next release: Oct 6, 2026