The US merchandise trade deficit widened to the largest since March 2025 in September, and imports of capital goods continued to increase dramatically. According to data released by the US Department of Commerce on Wednesday, the merchandise trade deficit widened 2.1% from the previous month to US$134.9 billion. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast a median deficit of $13.2 billion. The above figures are not adjusted for inflation. Merchandise imports increased 2.4%, and exports increased 2.6%. Capital goods imports jumped 7.5%. This category includes computers and accessories, semiconductors, and telecommunications equipment that drive artificial intelligence infrastructure. Wednesday's data showed that as companies stepped up procurement of overseas components for data centers, capital imports continued to put pressure on the trade balance in September. As the AI investment boom accelerates, imports of capital goods have been the main driving factor behind the sharp deterioration of trade deficits over the past year.

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