US current account deficit widens 2.6% in first quarter

The US current account deficit widened 2.6% in the first quarter of 2026, according to data released Wednesday from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The deficit, which measures US transactions with the rest of the world in goods, services, income and transfers, rose by $5.8 billion to $226.8 billion in the January-March period.

The figure came in above market expectations of a $212 billion deficit.

The current account gap for the fourth quarter of 2025 was revised to $221.1 billion from the previously reported $190.7 billion.

The first-quarter deficit accounted for 2.9% of current-dollar gross domestic product, up from 2.8% in the previous quarter.

The widening mainly reflected a shift in the primary income balance from surplus in the fourth quarter to deficit in the first quarter, while a smaller goods deficit partly offset the increase.

The rise mainly reflected a shift in the primary income balance from a surplus in last year's fourth quarter to a deficit in the first quarter of 2026, while a smaller goods deficit partly offset the increase.

Exports of goods and services, along with income receipts from foreign residents, rose $50 billion to $1.38 trillion in the first quarter. Imports of goods and services, along with income payments to foreign residents, increased $55.8 billion to $1.61 trillion.

The US net international investment position stood at minus $21.27 trillion at the end of the first quarter, compared with a revised minus $21.87 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025.