U.S. Current-Account Deficit Widens 15.7% to $246 Billion

The U.S. current-account deficit widened by $33.4 billion, or 15.7%, to $246.0 billion in the second quarter of 2026, as a larger goods deficit outweighed improvement in two income categories. The deficit rose to 3.0% of current-dollar gross domestic product from 2.7% in the first quarter.

The quarterly increase came as U.S. imports of goods and services, together with income payments to foreign residents, grew faster than the corresponding exports and income receipts. Imports and payments rose $92.2 billion to $1.69 trillion, while exports and receipts increased $58.8 billion to $1.44 trillion.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday the wider deficit primarily reflected an expanded deficit on goods. Smaller deficits on primary income, which includes investment income and compensation, and secondary income, which covers current transfers, partly offset the goods deterioration.

Goods pushed the current-account gap wider

The current account is broader than the monthly trade balance. It combines trade in goods and services with cross-border primary income and secondary income flows, so a deterioration in one part can be offset by improvement elsewhere. In the second quarter, the goods side was large enough to push the overall balance further into deficit even though the two income balances moved in the opposite direction.

The figures also show the scale of gross cross-border activity behind the net deficit. Receipts from foreign residents, including exports and income, reached $1.44 trillion for the quarter. Payments to foreign residents reached $1.69 trillion. The gap between those broad flows is reflected in the current-account balance, subject to the components and accounting conventions used in the international accounts.

At 3.0% of current-dollar GDP, the second-quarter deficit was larger relative to the economy than in the first quarter. The ratio is useful because it puts the dollar shortfall in the context of the size of the U.S. economy rather than treating the headline amount in isolation. BEA reported a first-quarter ratio of 2.7% after incorporating updated data.

The current-account deficit should not be confused with the federal budget deficit. The current account measures economic flows between U.S. residents and residents of other countries, including trade and income. The federal budget balance measures the difference between federal government receipts and spending. The two can be influenced by some of the same economic conditions, but they are distinct measures.

A large first-quarter revision changed the comparison

The 15.7% widening is measured against a revised first-quarter deficit of $212.6 billion. When BEA initially reported the first quarter in June, the deficit was estimated at $226.8 billion. The latest release therefore lowered the first-quarter shortfall by $14.2 billion before calculating the second-quarter change.

The revision did not alter the first-quarter goods balance, which remained a $250.9 billion deficit. Instead, BEA revised the services surplus up to $92.1 billion from $85.1 billion and reduced the secondary-income deficit to $38.0 billion from $47.8 billion. Those changes were partly offset by a larger primary-income deficit, revised to $15.8 billion from $13.3 billion.

That revised baseline matters for interpreting the headline percentage. Using the updated $212.6 billion first-quarter estimate, the $33.4 billion increase produces the reported 15.7% widening. The earlier $226.8 billion estimate is no longer the comparison point for the current second-quarter release.

BEA routinely revises international-account data as more complete source information becomes available. The first-quarter release was also part of the agency’s annual update, which incorporated revised survey data, changes to transport-services methodology, new financial-account source data and other methodological updates extending into historical periods. The September release then superseded the preliminary first-quarter figures with the latest estimates.

U.S. net international investment position moved further negative

The same release showed a larger negative U.S. net international investment position at the end of June. The position, which measures the difference between U.S. residents’ foreign financial assets and U.S. liabilities to foreign residents, was negative $22.42 trillion at the end of the second quarter, compared with a revised negative $21.27 trillion at the end of March.

U.S. assets abroad increased by $3.72 trillion during the quarter to $46.97 trillion. BEA said the increase reflected gains across every major investment category except reserve assets and was driven mainly by $3.03 trillion of price changes, along with $663.3 billion of financial flows.

U.S. liabilities to foreign residents rose even more, increasing $4.87 trillion to $69.39 trillion. Portfolio investment was a particularly important part of that increase, while price changes added $3.95 trillion and financial flows added $978.9 billion. Because liabilities increased by more than assets, the net investment position became more negative.

BEA separately reported net financial-account flows of negative $369.7 billion in the second quarter, its presentation for net U.S. borrowing from foreign residents. U.S. residents increased their foreign financial assets by $663.3 billion during the quarter, while U.S. liabilities to foreign residents increased by $978.9 billion.

The current-account figures and the investment-position figures describe different parts of the United States’ financial relationship with the rest of the world. The current account records flows during a period, while the investment position measures the stock of external assets and liabilities at a point in time. Reading them together shows both the second-quarter flow imbalance and the much larger accumulated balance-sheet position.

BEA’s next scheduled update is the third-quarter U.S. International Transactions and Investment Position release on December 18, 2026. That release will provide a new current-account estimate and will supersede the second-quarter figures with any revisions available at that time.