US Trade Deficit Widens to 60.3 Billion in March
The U.S. trade gap grew 4.4% in March as a surge in capital goods imports for artificial intelligence projects outweighed record exports of crude oil and petroleum. This shortfall acted as a significant drag on first-quarter economic growth despite a 2.0% annualized rise in gross domestic product.
The United States trade deficit widened 4.4% to $60.3 billion in March as an artificial intelligence investment boom drove record capital goods imports. The trade gap subtracted 1.30 percentage points from first-quarter GDP growth, which slowed to a 2.0% annualized rate. For investors, the data highlights how domestic tech infrastructure spending is currently outpacing export gains in energy and agriculture.
### AI Infrastructure Drives Import Surge Total imports rose 2.3% to $381.2 billion in March, fueled by businesses scaling data centers and AI capabilities. Goods imports climbed 3.6% to $302.2 billion, with capital goods hitting a record $120.7 billion. Computer accessory imports increased $2.0 billion during the month, though finished computer imports fell $2.3 billion.
