US trade deficit narrows to $73.3B in June as exports hold steady

The US trade deficit shrank to $73.3 billion in June, down from a revised $77.6 billion in May, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the US Census Bureau. Exports clocked in at $314.7 billion while imports hit $388.0 billion. That’s a roughly $4.3 billion improvement month-over-month. The good news and the not-so-good news The advance goods-only figures for June show a deficit of $101.5 billion. Services exports are doing the heavy lifting to make the headline figure look palatable, with the services sector — think finance, tech, consulting, and intellectual property licensing — acting as the cushion keeping the overall deficit from looking much worse. Monthly trade deficits have fluctuated between $50 billion and $80 billion throughout 2026. June’s number sits near the upper end of that range. The May deficit was itself revised, landing at $77.6 billion. What investors should actually watch The goods-only deficit of $101.5 billion deserves more scrutiny than the headline number. That gap reveals the US economy’s continued dependence on imported manufactured goods, components, and consumer products. Supply chain dynamics, energy prices, and manufacturing activ...