🚨 The U.S. Trade Deficit Widened To $56.8B in November, Rising From Its Lowest Level Since 2009
According to the report released just yesterday (January 29, 2026) by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the November 2025 trade deficit did indeed widen to $56.8 billion.
The jump is particularly striking because it follows an unusually low October deficit of $29.2 billion (revised), which was the smallest gap the U.S. had seen since June 2009.
Key Drivers of the November Shift
The nearly 95% month-over-month increase was fueled by a "perfect storm" of rising imports and falling exports:
Surge in Imports (+5.0%): Total imports rose to $348.9 billion. This was driven largely by consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, and capital goods like semiconductors and computers. Many analysts suggest this was partly due to businesses "front-loading" shipments to avoid potential tariff changes.
Drop in Exports (-3.6%): Total exports fell to $292.1 billion. A significant factor here was a sharp decline in outbound shipments of industrial supplies, particularly non-monetary gold, which had seen a massive spike in previous months.
Goods vs. Services: While the goods deficit ballooned by $27.9 billion to reach $86.9 billion, the services surplus remained relatively stable, ticking up slightly to $30.1 billion.